We'll Be Okay
by destielistheship
Summary: Destiel High School AU. When Castiel Novak moves to town, Dean's not-so-easy life of hiding in the closet turns upside down. Lots of angst, but some fluff, too. Hope you like it!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Soooooo this is my first fanfic and would love reviews. I'd also like to apologize for the extremely common prompt written horribly... But I hope you enjoy it, regardless! **

**Okay, that's all. Hope you like it :) xoxoxxoxooxooxxxxx**

The bell rang through the high school and I got up out of my chair, thankful that math had finally ended. So far, the day sucked. I overslept, forgot half of my books, and my girlfriend, Lisa, was pissed at me for some reason. She was always pissed about something. Sometimes, I thought that she somehow found out that I was gay, but usually it was just her being her bitchy self. I thought that day probably couldn't get any worse, until I turned out to be dead wrong as my football coach came walking up to me in a somewhat rage.

"Winchester!" She yelled. Yeah- she was a total bitch.

"Look, coach, I'm sorry I missed laps this morning but I overslept, had to take my kid brother to school, and forgot my books," I rambled, hopeful she was having an understanding day.

"Tough shit! Now you'll have to do double after school."

"Yes, ma'am." I walked away. At that point, I was just waiting for the day to be over. I passed all of my friends in the hallway, not wanting to talk. I was considered one of the most popular guys in school, but I really didn't care. I had one of the most beautiful girls in school as my girlfriend, but I knew that it wasn't right lying to her. I just wished that I could come out. I always felt like I was lying and it sucked hiding in the closet, but I felt like I didn't have a choice. If people knew, my life could go to shit.

After a long day of avoiding Lisa and my friends, I got to the track around the football field. Sometimes I didn't mind running, it gave me time to think, but that day I just wanted to go home. After getting changed, I went out and ran. I ran five laps before taking a quick break and drinking some water. As I was sitting on the bleachers, another guy that I didn't recognize went on to the track. I couldn't quite see his face, but I could clearly see the strong definition of his abs through his shirt, not to mention his arms. I decided to do some more laps and then go home. I went back on to the track and started running. When I started to catch up with the mystery guy, I picked up the pace, and when I ran up next to him I noticed I had never seen the guy around school.

"Hey! Are you new?" I said, regretting how abrupt I sounded.

"Um, yeah. Just moved here," the dark haired man said, seeming slightly startled by the interruption, "I'm Castiel."

"I'm Dean." I said, beginning to get a little out of breath, mainly because I was talking to a guy that I was incredibly attracted to.

"I didn't see you around school today," I continued, "What classes are you taking?" I wasn't really sure why I was trying so hard to start a conversation, but I guess I just wanted something to get my mind off of everything that was going on.

"You know, Dean, I would much rather be talking to you on more comfortable circumstances," Castiel said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, same. Wanna go get some coffee or something?" I asked, hoping it didn't sound too much like a date.

"Sure. That sounds much better than running around a football field," Castiel said. We both went in to the locker rooms to change. I took a shower before leaving, due to the fact I had been running a lot longer than Castiel. We left the school and started walking down to the coffee shop that was just one block from the track.

"So where did you move here from, Cas?" I asked, not realizing right away the nickname I had given Castiel.

"Iowa. My mom died so my dad insisted on 'starting a new life' or something like that."

"Oh. I'm sorry." I knew what it was like to lose a parent. When my mom died, my life flipped upside down and I never knew which way was right. I was young, but I can still remember the confusion and the intensity that my life had turned to.

"No, don't worry," Castiel spoke again, "I never really saw my mom anyway. She was always at work or on business trips. Sometimes I wonder if she ever knew she had kids." Cas chuckled under his breath, but I could see the hint of pain in his eyes.

"That sucks, man," I said, noticing Cas' blue eyes. I saw them before but right at that second I looked into them, and damn, they were really blue. It was almost as if they were trying to just suck me right in, which they actually were.

"So what's your story, Dean?" Cas started, "Do you run track or something?"

"No, I'm actually the quarter back, but believe it or not I am not one of those obnoxious douche bag jocks like in all those stupid movies," I said.

"Oh, that's reassuring," Cas laughed. I liked when Cas laughed, and how the corners of his eyes would crinkle. When we arrived at the coffee shop, we ordered our coffee and when we went to go sit down we passed a table that some of my friends were sitting at.

"Hey, Dean! What's up?" Benny yelled.

"Not much. This is Castiel," I said, not wanting to deal with them at the moment.

"Hey," Cas said, shyly.

"See you later, guys," I said after they acknowledged Cas, rather judgmentally, which made me feel bad. Cas and I walked over to a table on the other side of the cafe and sat down.

"Sorry, Cas. They can be dicks," I said.

"It's alright, Dean. I'm used to it."

"Well you shouldn't be." I was being honest, Cas was really cool.

"I know you probably don't want to hear this, Dean, but they keep looking over at us strangely. I believe they think we're on a date," Cas said, with a touch of guilt.

"Let them think whatever they want," I said with a wink. I didn't expect it. I didn't mean to flirt with Cas like that. I couldn't risk anything as little as a rumor get out that I was gay, but it just kind of happened. Cas smiled- to my relief- and we sat there talking for a few minutes until Uriel came over.

"Dude, what the hell?" He said when he got to the table, "What was with you at school today?"

"Nothing, man. Just tired I guess," I said. Out of all of my friends, Uriel was the worst. He was a total dick most of the time and I wasn't really sure why I ever hung out with him.

"Well you must have been pretty damn tired. You were totally ignoring everyone," Uriel said. He was really beginning to get on my nerves.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I'm kinda busy right now," I said, looking back at Cas.

"Doing what? Sipping lattes with this new kid, fag?" Uriel said, and before I knew it, my fist had collided with Uriel's face.

"Dean!" Cas yelled.

"C'mon, Cas. This place sucks," I said, and we both passed a shocked Uriel as we walked out. I could feel the dozens of eyes on me.

"Dean, you didn't have to do that," Cas said as they walked down the street.

"Yes, I absolutely had to do that. Uriel's a dick and he deserved worse."

"Hold on a sec," Cas said as he took my shoulder so we could be face to face, "You just met me like an hour and a half ago and you're punching people who call me stupid names. I've been called a whole lot worse than that and you just lost a friend, or more, over it."

"Look, Cas. It was no big deal. He was hardly my friend and I'm relieved to have him out of my life. Nobody deserves to be called that or anything worse." I really liked Cas. I liked him a little too much, but I felt okay with that. There was just something about him that made me feel like it was okay. We continued to walk back to the school in comfortable silence before Cas spoke up again,

"I think that your friends may believe we're- I don't know- something." I knew what Cas meant, and I would have been upset about it normally, but the thought of Cas and me being "something" made me feel warm for some reason. It gave me goosebumps, but in a good way. It felt _okay_, and I didn't expect it. I chuckled under my breath, realizing that my friends really must have thought Cas and me were dating. I would think the same thing if I were them.

"What makes you say that?" I said, teasingly. We both laughed and I kept asking myself if I thought I was ready to be with a guy like that, and every time I looked into those blue eyes, I thought more and more like I was.

When we got back to the school, we sat on the bleachers and talked for two hours before we parted ways. I couldn't stop thinking about Cas all night. I didn't deny that- regardless of the short time I had known him- being with Cas felt right. The thought of coming out scared me, but I felt like I could make it work with Cas. There was just something about him that I fell for. I had never felt like that about anyone and I didn't understand it, but in a way, I didn't care.

The next day, I woke up with Cas on my mind. For once in my life, I was looking forward to going to school. I was kind of dreading having to confront my friends after what happened the day before, but I didn't care. After I dropped Sam off, I got to school and immediately started looking for Cas. I was a little worried he wouldn't really want to see me after the incident at the cafe, but I was going to try and talk to him anyway. Then, a few of my friends that were at the cafe the day before spotted me and walked over.

"Dean! Dude, what the hell?" Jo asked, flailing her arms in frustration. I tried not to laugh at the motion, which made her even more irritated.

"What?" I answered, innocently.

"Well, to start with, you were totally avoiding us at school, and then you were out with some random dude and punched Uriel. Then, to end with, you just left the cafe without even saying anything. What's going on, brother?" Benny said.

"Okay. I was acting kind of weird... I get it. I was just tired and I was having a shitty day," I said, still casually looking around for Cas. Then Ash spoke up,

"So who was that guy, Castiel?"

"Oh- He's just- My, um... Friend," I said, not thinking about my answer. Then I spotted Cas across the hall at his locker.

"I gotta go," I said, and walked away quickly towards Cas. I could only imagine what my friends must had been thinking after that, but I figured I could come up with some stupid excuse later. Right then, I just wanted to talk to Cas.

"Hey, Cas," I said, smiling. Cas looked over at me and his face lit up when he saw me beside him. I was so relived he wasn't scared away by everything that had happened the day before.

"Hello, Dean." Cas' voice was like music to my ears. What the hell was the deal with this guy? I had never felt so weird about someone like that.

"How's it going?" I asked, not knowing exactly what I wanted to talk about. I just liked being around Cas. I just liked talking with him.

"I'm alright. After everything that happened yesterday, I didn't think you would want to see me again," Cas admitted, looking down at the floor and his black and worn Converse. I lifted Cas' chin without thinking,

"Of course I want to see you." Cas smiled, but I pulled away after realizing that we were in the middle of a hallway filled with my friends and other students that would probably cause a scene.

"Hey, um, I was thinking- do you wanna hangout at my place after school?" I asked.

"I'd love to," Cas answered, still smiling.

The day went by like a normal and uneventful day, except that Cas and I ate together at lunch instead of me eating with my other friends. I couldn't wait to hangout with Cas later and I was even more excited because my dad wouldn't be home. If dad ever little as suspected me doing anything more than platonic with another guy, he would kill me.

After my last class, I gathered my books and went out to Baby, my beloved 67 Chevy Impala. That car was one of the best things that ever happened to me. The roar of the engine was soothing and all of the scratches and dents had their own story back from when I was little and the car belonged to my dad. A minute later, I spotted Cas leaving the school. Just like earlier that day, he was wearing a blue t-shirt, that happened to match his eyes perfectly, black skinny jeans, and a tan trench coat.

"Hello, Dean," Cas said.

"Hey, Cas. Do you mind if we go pick up my little brother before we head over to my house?"

"No, I don't mind." We slid into the Impala and drove out of the school parking lot. We talked for a few minutes before arriving at Sam's school and he got into the back seat.

"Hey, Sammy. This is Cas," I said. Sam gave me a weird look but I ignored it.

"Nice to meet you, Cas," Sam said.

"You too, Sam," Cas said as I pulled out of the parking lot. When we got to my house, Sam went up to his room and Cas and I went into the kitchen.

"Hungry?" I asked.

"No, I'm okay. So where are your parents?"

"Dad's working and my mom died a while back."

"I'm sorry, Dean. I didn't know."

"It's fine Cas, really. It was a long time ago." I got us both sodas and we went up to my room. We could hear Sam playing his music in his room and I chose to drown it out with ACDC.

"Nice," Cas said to himself, respecting my taste in music. I smiled to myself, liking Cas more and more. We stood standing, Cas admiring all of my posters on the walls.

"Are you a fan?" I asked, noticing Cas looking at my Metallica poster.

"Yeah, you could say that," he answered, smiling. I walked over to Cas and we were both admiring the poster- and standing unnecessarily close. I was getting more and more comfortable with the idea of dating Cas, assuming he was actually gay. I just had a feeling that Cas and I would be amazing.

"So did you talk to your friends today?" Cas asked.

"Yeah, but just for a minute. I didn't want to have to talk more about everything that happened at the cafe. It wasn't as big of a deal as everyone thinks."

"Well you, the straight and incredibly popular quarter back, was out with a mystery guy and then punched someone after they called me a fag. You can't really blame them for thinking it's a big deal."

"I just wish everyone would chill, but it doesn't matter right now. I'm just glad you're here," I said. I looked right at Cas and our eyes met. We were standing so close, far from a platonic distance, and I forgot about all the shit going on in my life and all I could think about right then, was Cas. I closed the gap between us and kissed Cas suddenly, but softly, before thinking twice about it. I didn't even realize what I was doing at first. Just the day before, I would have laughed my ass off at the thought of _actually _being with another guy like that. I had no idea what came over me and I was shocked at myself, but couldn't seem to stop. It was slow and gentle, but after a moment it got more heated and passionate. I took Cas' face in my hands as he moved closer and wrapped his arms around my waist. It felt amazing to have Cas that close to me, and I never wanted the moment to end. Then, we heard a small knock at the door. Both of us were too in the moment to realize someone was _actually_ at the door, so then, entered Sam.

"Woah-" Sam said, eyes wide. Cas and I broke apart and Sam left the room quickly. Cas and I looked at each other for a second before I left to talk to Sam.

"Sam! Wait a second!" I called. I was pretty freaked out of what just happened. I had been so careful for so long about my sexuality, and then all of the sudden, _**bam**_. I walked into Sam's room and he was sitting on his bed about to open a book.

"Look, Sam. About that-"

"Dean. It's okay. I really don't care," Sam cut me off.

"What?"

"I said I don't care. Dude, I've suspected you for a while now and _it's fine_, but I wouldn't be too sure about dad feeling the same way."

"Um... Okay, awesome. Thanks, Sammy- Wait, um... Okay. Thanks, Sammy... What did you want?" I asked.

"Nothing. Just wanted to order pizza," Sam said and laughed.

"I'm on it." I finally sighed with relief after trying to process what the hell just happened, and left the room. I was a little shocked from how quickly my relationship with Cas had escalated, but I was thrilled that Sam was cool with it. Although I was really worried about hiding it from my dad, I wanted to make it work with Cas. I walked into my bedroom and he was sitting on my bed, looking stressed. I thought for a second I had made a horrible mistake.

"I'm sorry, Dean," Cas said. He sounded guilty and that just made me feel like crap.

"Dude, don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault that my brother came in. Plus, he said he was cool with the whole thing," I sat down next to Cas.

"I didn't mean to- I don't know, I just- I doubt you wanted your brother to find out like that," Cas looked down.

"It doesn't matter, Cas... Really. I wanna be with you and I don't care who knows it," I lifted his chin, once again, and kissed him. It was true. I was done dealing with being gay and nobody knowing. I really liked Cas and I couldn't stand to not be with him because of what people at school might say. After a few minutes, we broke apart and rested our foreheads against each others.

"Except for my dad," I whispered, and we both laughed. I ordered pizza shortly after and we spent the rest of the day eating, watching movies, and making out. We even played a board game with Sam at one point. It was an amazing day, and I couldn't wait for the days just like that in the future.

A few days later, I was so nervous before school that I was shaking. Cas and I had spent those few days together, hanging out after school and during lunch, and we were finally going to come out. I had to break up with Lisa, and I knew it would be a scene that everyone in school would be talking about. Lisa was a great girl and I didn't want to hurt her, but I really didn't have a choice. As soon as I walked through the doors to the school, my friends were on my heels and asking more questions. I had totally and completely been avoiding them, and I had so much on my mind right then, that I could barely comprehend what they were saying. I just kept walking through the halls trying to find Lisa, and eventually my friends had gotten frustrated again with my vague and one word answers and left me alone. I went to Lisa's locker and found her fixing her makeup in the small mirror she had hid inside her locker. I walked up to her, trying to calm my nerves before I said anything,

"Hey, Lisa, can I talk to you?" I had built up enough courage to say something.

"Dean, where the hell have you been?" She looked mad, and the only thing that kept me going was the thought of Cas.

"I know I've been acting weird lately and I'm sorry, but I really need to talk to you." I was trying not to make eye contact. I felt awful and confused about everything.

"What?" She looked uneasy, like she knew what was coming, but didn't believe it.

"We need to break up," I blurted out, more suddenly than I intended.

"What? Are you serious?" Lisa yelled, attracting the attention of many people in the hallway.

"I'm really sorry, Lisa. It's just not working for me. I don't want to hurt you, you have to understand." I sounded like I really meant it, and I did. I felt awful for dragging Lisa through all that shit, and she didn't deserve it, no matter how bitchy she got.

"Fine. Whatever." Lisa slammed her locker and stormed off, just before the bell rang for first period. I felt horrible. I tried not to think about it too much as I went to class. Instead, I thought about Cas, and that I would be able to see him at lunch, so I only had to last before then. We had talked about coming out together then, but we weren't sure yet.

My classes went on slower than ever before lunch, and when the time came, I was nervous all over again. I wanted to come out and be with Cas, but I was almost sure that it wouldn't go as smoothly as I hoped. I walked into the lunchroom and spotted Cas sitting at a lunch table. I relaxed just a little bit, and walked over to sit down next to him.

"Hey," I said, smiling at the sight of Cas and his crazy dark hair that I loved.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you, Dean," Cas said, smiling just as wide, but also looking a bit shaky.

"So... Um, what's the plan- You know, for today?" I asked, getting more nervous.

"I don't know. What do you wanna do?"

"I want to be with you," I blushed a little bit as I realized how chick-flicky that sounded, but I didn't really care. My whole life had basically been a chick-flick since I met Cas, and that doesn't mean I liked that fact, but I liked Cas... A lot.

"Me too. More than anything." We were both smiling like idiots at that point and neither of us cared about the dozens of judgmental other students in the room. We both leaned in and pressed our lips together without thinking much about it. After a few moments, we pulled apart and immediately became aware of the silence that had fallen upon the whole lunchroom, not to mention the intense stares. I felt like something very bad could happen right then, especially considering that everyone had food on their plates and that it would be awfully easy to throw at us.

"I feel like we should run," Cas whispered.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." We both got up and ran out of the lunchroom, hand in hand. When we finally reached the empty halls on the other side of the school, we were both laughing and out of breath.

"Well, I didn't expect it to go much better than that," I said, truthfully.

"That's because we ran away like cowards," Cas said, catching his breath, "What do you think they're gonna do? You know, when we actually have to see them, take classes with them, eat with them, do school projects with them?"

"I honestly have no friggin' clue. You know, Cas, I have been at this school for a couple years now and nobody has ever come out as gay. There's no telling what will happen."

"Well, I guess we'll find out." We stepped closer and wrapped our arms around each other.

"I'm glad I'm doing this with you, Cas," I said into his neck. Everything happened so fast. Just within a week, I came out to my brother, came out to my school, and got a boyfriend, all because of this one amazing and unbelievable guy in a trench coat. It was almost too fast, but there was something about Cas that just made everything feel so right.

When we decided to leave the school for the rest of the day, we walked out just before lunch ended. We got into the Impala and drove out of the quiet parking lot. I had started to get a little more skeptical of the idea that we could be 'out and proud', and I really didn't want Cas to get hurt by those assholes that may not approve.

"Do you think we did the right thing, Cas?" I had calmed down, but my nerves were still a little shaken up.

"I believe we did, Dean, but they might not agree. I think it needed to happen, though," Cas sounded truthful, and that comforted me. Not exactly the words he said but the way he said them. I pulled up at Cas' house and kissed him before he left the Impala. We were both nervous about the next day and how things were going to go, but we just had to wait.

The next morning, I picked Cas up before school. We didn't say much, but the silence was comfortable. We were trying to mentally prepare ourselves for what might happen at school, and it was just nice to be there with each other, not having to talk. When we pulled into the parking lot and I parked the Impala, we didn't get out of the car right away. We looked at each other and I took Cas' hand,

"You good?"

"Yeah, I'm good." We leaned in and kissed each other softly before leaving the car and walking to the school doors. Once we got there, I took Cas' hand again and could see Cas relax just a little at the touch. We walked in I and could instantly feel the stares on us and could hear the whispers, but I tried to just ignore them and kept walking to Cas' locker with him. He was squeezing my hand tight, in fear of what could happen. I felt like he had been through more than he led on before he came to this school. He seemed put together and happy enough, but sometimes I could see the hurt and regret in his eyes.

"Well, they haven't beat us up yet, so that's probably a good sign," Cas said as we got to his locker.

"Well, yeah, but it's been like three minutes out of six hours, Cas," I said.

"Hey. We'll be okay," Cas said, taking both of my hands, "It's not like there aren't teachers around here. We just shouldn't attract too much attention to ourselves."

"Yeah, okay." I knew Cas was right, but it didn't seem like he knew it. He looked okay overall, but I could see that he was more scared than he acted.

Later that day, I was walking to my locker before lunch. Cas was still in class but nothing had happened all day, apart from casual name calling in the halls, so I figured Cas would be alright if I went ahead to lunch. Then, Jo and Benny came up to me, looking pissed out of their minds. I had been avoiding them all day again, but I knew I'd have to face them eventually.

"Dean! Again, I'm gonna say, DUDE, what the hell?" Jo practically screamed.

"I'm sorry, okay? What did you want me to do, just keep on living my life as a lie, dating girls only to hurt them, and hiding from all of you?" I really didn't want to fight with my friends, but it was about time that I talked to them. They deserved it. Ash walked up to us, noticing the yelling.

"What? No, we're not mad that you're gay! We're mad because you didn't tell us," Benny said. I was not ready for that. All that time I had been afraid of my own friends for nothing?

"Are you serious?" I said, much more calmly and quietly.

"Why would we care?" Ash asked, "We're not the ones you should be lying to, Dean. We're your friends."

"Then why the hell were you guys dicks to Cas at the cafe?" I asked, confused, yet relieved at their reaction.

"How did you expect us to act?" Jo started, "You blew us off all day and then showed up later with some guy we had never seen." Everything seemed like things could get back to normal. My friends were okay with me being with a guy and that was what I was most worried about.

"Well, if you guys are really okay with it, then do you wanna come have lunch with Cas and me?" I asked. Maybe if they would show the school that they were okay with it, the rest of the school would warm up to the idea.

"Finally! Geez, it's been days since we ate together," Ash said. I laughed and we walked to the cafeteria. When we walked in, I saw Cas sitting alone at a table. I hadn't noticed he had left the classroom. We walked over and when Cas spotted us, he looked suddenly uneasy at the sight of my friends.

"Hey, babe. It's okay, they're cool with it," I said sitting next to Cas and kissing him on the cheek. He seemed to relax at the touch and I smiled to myself.

"Hi, Castiel," Jo said with her smile and perky cheekbones.

"Hola," Ash said, with a flick of his hand, intended to be a wave.

"How are you, brother?" Benny said, lastly. They all sat down with Cas and me and I could see Cas' smile.

"Hello," he said glancing at me, still smiling. I sat closer to him and put my arm around his waist before he leaned into the touch.

"How did it go today?" I asked him quietly. I really hoped he didn't have to deal with any crap. It would make me feel awful, he really didn't deserve any more to put up with.

"Actually, everything was fine. I mean, I definitely got shitty looks from people and I could hear whispers, but otherwise things were fine," Cas sighed. I could really see how happy he was about not getting treated badly over this and it relieved me more than anything.

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that," I said, briefly resting my forehead against his. I realized I forgot about my friends sitting with us when I could hear them giggling at Cas and me. We pulled back and Cas blushed as I looked up and saw Jo smiling like an idiot and trying to control her excitement. Not to mention Benny and Ash smirking like the douchey best friends that I loved.

"Guys... Really?" I said.

"What?" They all said in unison. I laughed and we all ate our lunch.

The rest of the week went on just like that, and it was such a relief. I never thought everything would go so perfectly. Yeah, some people that used to talk to me stopped being too friendly, but it was worth it being with Cas. On Saturday, Cas and I went to the movies and walked around town, talking, laughing, eating. It was amazing, but at a certain point in the day, I noticed Cas suddenly looked upset.

"You okay?" I asked as we sat down on a bench in the park. He looked up at me, seeming startled by the fact I had noticed something was wrong. He looked at me for a few moments before speaking,

"This was not supposed to happen." Cas ducked his head as he said the words and my breath caught in my throat. What did he mean? My heart beat faster and I was wondering if I the thought in the back of my head was right; all of what had happened really was too good to be true.

"Cas, what do you mean?" I asked.

"I thought I had learned my lesson, but then you and those damn green eyes came along," Cas said more to himself than me, but still talking right at me with a small smile, before his face fell, once again. I was so confused at that point. Confused and scared that I was about to lose the one good thing that had happened to me in most of my life.

"Cas, please talk to me," I asked, trying not to pressure him, but I really wanted to know what was going on. He looked up at me again and sighed.

"I made some mistakes at my last school, and you deserve to know. I thought it was okay to come out. It was getting really bad- hiding in the closet, lying to my friends, being so lonely I could hardly take it. My dad could never know, but I figured if I was out at school, things would get better. But I was wrong, and everything got worse and worse and then my mom died, and we had to come here," Cas swallowed and took a moment to breathe, his eyes beginning to gloss, "I swore I wouldn't be so foolish this time. I got another chance, and I wasn't gonna fuck it up again. But then, I met you, and it was like all of the cruelty, drama, and the promises I made to myself, simply disappeared. You made me feel like it was okay to be me again. I know it doesn't make sense, and we just met, and there are a million other reasons this is stupid, but I just feel like this is too good to be true. I've been happier in these past few days with you, than I have been in my entire life. I feel like I should be preparing myself for grief and heartbreak, because I have never in my _entire _life, been this happy with myself and my life." Cas looked embarrassed, and I didn't know what to say. I didn't think I had ever been _truly _speechless before. So, I did the only thing that made the most sense to me. I cupped his cheek with my hand and leaned in slowly to kiss him. It was so slow and soft, yet full of life and passion. When we broke apart, I intertwined my fingers with his and finally spoke,

"I will never let anything like that happen to you again. And I promise, I'm not goin' anywhere. We'll be alright. Okay?"

"Okay." I could see Cas relax and we sat there for the rest of the day- holding hands and talking. Kissing lazily and ignoring the strange looks we got from people passing the small bench. It was probably one of the best days of my life.

On Sunday, we both had family plans and it was awful not seeing Cas for a whole day. On Monday, I picked him up before school and something was different. He seemed off and he wasn't talking much.

"Hey, Cas. What's up?" I asked, concerned, not yet pulling away from his house.

"Um, I'm fine. Let's just go," he said, looking out the window.

"Cas. What's going on?" I asked. I knew something was wrong. Just a couple days before he was happy and laughing and holding my hand. Even after he had told me about everything that he went through and his fears and regrets, he was okay. He actually seemed even more comfortable than before we talked. Like he wanted to know if it would scare me off or something. He looked down at his lap and I could see tears building up in his eyes. I sat closer and and wrapped my arms around him as he cried. I didn't know what was going on. Only one day had passed since I saw him and he was acting completely different.

"Hey, hey, angel. What happened?" I asked after a while, as he started to calm down. He didn't answer. He just pulled away slightly from me and rolled up his sleeve from his arm, revealing multiple dark bruises and gashes all the way up his arm. My heart stopped.

"Cas, what the fuck are those? What happened?" I was really starting to freak out. I didn't know how that happened to Cas, but I was almost positive the bruises weren't an accident and the cuts didn't look even close to intentional. Cas didn't respond and I decided that we should both take a sick day and go somewhere to talk. As I pulled away from the driveway I kept thinking how something like that could happen. Was it kids from school? Could it have been an accident? There were no marks on his face, so were they defensive wounds? I continued thinking possibilities over and over in my head as Cas just looked out the window, still not speaking. Eventually, we arrived at a small beach near a lake. I went there sometimes to think. It was through a small trail in the woods and there was never anyone there other than me.

"C'mon," I said as I got out of the Impala and Cas followed. I lead him through the short trail and we got to the water. There was a big rock on the sand near the water's edge and we went and sat on top of it.

"Talk to me," I said, gently holding Cas' hands.

"It's um... It's my dad. He... found out about us somehow and- Dean I didn't know he would-" Cas stopped talking and tears were starting to build up in his eyes again. I was so mad. I was so disappointed. Most of all, I was guilty. I didn't know something like that would happen. Everything was going so well, I thought things were actually going to be okay for once. "I don't wanna go back there, Dean."

"Cas, I am so sorry. I didn't know this would happen. I thought things were okay and- I am so sorry, Cas. You don't ever have to go back. I promise," I said, tears then started to build up in my eyes.

"Please don't feel bad about this, Dean. He had a suspicion and I was the one that told him. I hoped that maybe he would understand, but then he just lost it." Cas moved closer to me and I held him for a while. We sat there in peace together until Cas' cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and I could feel him become tense as he read that it was his dad calling.

"Don't answer it, Cas. You can stay with me, but please just don't have anything more to do with him. At least for now," I said. Cas turned his phone off.

"What about your dad?" He asked.

"Don't worry, I can just tell him you're a friend who needs a place to stay," I said, kissing the top of Cas' head and running my fingers through his hair.

"Really?" He asked, shaking.

"Really." I held him closer and we sat there for even longer.

Later that afternoon, I had to pick up Sam from school. Cas and I had spent all day at that beach and now we finally had to face the situation. I figured as long as we were really careful, my dad would be fine believing Cas was just a friend that needed somewhere to stay. He was a reasonable guy for the most part, unless it came to anything that had to do with two men being more than friends. Cas and I got into the Impala and drove to the middle school, where Sam was waiting for us on a tall stone wall. He jumped down, with no difficulty, and got into the backseat.

"Hey, guys," he said, buckling his seat belt, "are you coming over, Cas?"

"Actually, Sammy, Cas is gonna stay at our house for a while, assuming dad will be okay with it," I said. I didn't really consider how Sam would feel about Cas living with us, but I just guessed he would be fine with it.

"Cool," Sam said, not appearing to be phased. I noticed Cas sigh- just a little bit- with relief that Sam was okay about it.

When we got to my house, I told Cas to wait in the car while I talked to my dad. I realized I was shaking by the time I got to the door.

"Dean, relax. Dad will be fine with it as long as he doesn't find out," Sam said when I hesitated before the door. I was thankful that Sam knew about Cas and me. If he didn't, everything would be a lot more complicated and he wouldn't be there to talk to me right then. I sighed and finally opened the door. I didn't want to keep Cas waiting, so I went straight into the house in search for my dad. When i went into the living room, he was there, sitting on the couch and reading a book.

"Hi, dad. Um, can I talk to you about something?" I sat down in a chair across from him.

"Sure, Dean. What is it?" He looked up from his book, seeming concerned, but slightly irritated.

"I have this friend- and he, um... He really needs a place to stay for a while. I was wondering if maybe he could stay with us until things go back to normal," I asked, looking down at my fiddling hands in my lap.

"Look at me when you are talking to me, son," he said to me calmly but sternly. I knew he wanted me to make eye contact, but it was hard to. I felt like I was lying, even though I wasn't. Not _really. _My father continued after I looked up at him, "What exactly makes it so your friend cannot stay at his own house?" I was hoping he wouldn't ask questions, but I knew he would.

"There's just some shi- stuff- happening at his house right now, and he can't stay." I was getting angry again about everything that Cas had to go through, and had to catch myself before I started losing my self control. My dad hated when emotions would overtake Sam or me. He said that we needed to be men and not let thoughts that might hurt us in. It was total bullshit and I knew it, but I had to seem put together enough when I was around my father.

"And he has no other place to stay?" My father asked. I was starting to get really freaked. If he said no, Cas would have to go back to his house, and who knows what would happen.

"No. He just moved here and doesn't know anyone, and most of his family still lives in Iowa."

"Alright. He can stay here as long at it will be temporary and he will not distract you or Sam from your studies." I let out a breath I didn't notice I was holding, and thanked my father before going out to get Cas. He was leaning against the Impala looking scared. More scared than before. I ran up to him,

"Cas! He said yes. You can stay," I said, smiling wide. I knew that it was under horrible circumstances that made my blood boil, but I was so excited that Cas would be safe and that he was going to be around all the time. I would get to see him every single day. His face lit up and we threw each other into our arms.

"Thank you, Dean. Thank you," Cas spoke into my shoulder. I didn't really think that my dad would say no, but knowing that Cas would be safe felt like a ton of bricks being lifted off of us.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! So, here's another chapter! Hope you don't hate it... **

**Also, I wanted to say that I am home schooled, therefore, I have never been to high school, so I apologize if my writing especially sucks when they're at school. I'm not really sure what the deal is there... Anywho, I hope you aren't disappointed with this! I enjoyed writing it :) xoxoxoxoxxoxxo**

**P.s. Please feel free to point out any editing mistakes that you see :)**

That night, Cas met my father without any problems. I thought my heart would beat out of my chest all throughout the evening. I guess my dad wanted to get to know Cas, because he insisted on ordering more pizza than necessary and eating dinner together, then play cards, and then watch a movie. I didn't think I had spent that much time with him since I was eight years old. When my dad finally went to bed, I set up a mattress on the floor to my room while Cas was in the shower. I didn't totally agree with the fact of Cas sleeping right next to my bed- as apposed to in it with me- but there was no option. When Cas walked into my room- or, our room- he was wearing sweat pants and a Beatles t-shirt I had lent him and his hair was still a little wet, but still sticking up in every direction. He looked exhausted from the draining day, and he also looked heartbroken. He briefly smiled weakly when he saw me sitting at my desk finishing my homework. I could only imagine what was going on inside his head. He had turned his phone off, and his father didn't know where he was, but I could see that he was almost anticipating the moment that he would have to see his father again. He had told me that he could barely get away from his father, the night before, and he hid in a hallway closet until he heard his father leave the house. He said he hadn't seen his him since then.

"Thank you for the bed, Dean," Cas said as he sat down on the small, but thick, mattress.

"Why don't you take my bed? It's way more comfortable than that thing," I said. I really wouldn't mind sleeping there. Cas had been through so much, and then he couldn't even go back to his own home. He deserved to at least be comfortable in his bed.

"No, Dean. This is fine, really. It reminds me of my bed back in my house." Cas sounded so tired.

"Okay, if you say so. Why don't we get some shut eye," I said. It was only about 9:30, but Cas needed rest, and I didn't mind a few extra hours either. Cas nodded and slid under the blankets on the bed. I crawled into my own bed and shut off the light.

"Night, Cas," I said quietly.

"Goodnight, Dean."

We had both fallen asleep fast, but not too long after, I woke up to Cas violently tossing and turning. He was whimpering and repeating "no" over and over again. I didn't realize right away what was happening, but I soon figured that Cas was having a nightmare. I jumped out from under my blankets and went to his bed, reaching out my arms and trying to find him in the dark. When I found him, he had stopped thrashing as much and I held him close to me.

"Sshhh... Cas, it's okay. You're okay," I kept saying. He became still, and then I felt him move closer to me. I lied us down, my arms still wrapped around him. I could feel tears sinking in to the fabric of my t-shirt, where Cas' head lay on my chest.

"Dean," I heard him whisper.

"Hey, babe. You're okay. I'm here," I soothed, gently running my hand along his back. He clutched softly at my shirt and I felt him breathe more steadily. I had never been in a situation like that. Sure, I would help Sam when he had nightmares and dad wasn't home, but it was nothing like that. All Sam ever needed was for me to tell him that monsters weren't real before giving him a cookie and sending him on his merry way. But when Cas needed me there like that, it was real. He had been though more than he should have, and he needed an anchor, a rock, someone to hold on to; he needed _me_. We fell asleep like that, and never moved positions. I held him until I couldn't feel the tears on my chest, and I could hear and feel the calm inhales of his breath, followed by the smooth and steady exhale. I didn't think I had ever held someone like that before. It was even different than when we sat on the rock earlier, and different than when we were in the Impala. It was intense and emotional, but it was also so personal and- well, it was amazing.

The next morning, I woke up next to Cas, my arms still around him, and his face still on my chest. My alarm was going off across the room on my desk and I heard footsteps coming down the hallway. I immediately thought that my alarm had been going off for too long, and my dad was coming in to turn it off. I panicked when I realized that I was in Cas' bed- with Cas- cuddling. I didn't want to startle him, so I gently slipped out from beneath him, resting his head on the pillow and going to turn the alarm off. Just barely a few seconds later, my dad walked in looking sleepy and irritated.

"Dean, would you learn to turn that damn thing off!" He said, more than loud enough to wake the house. Cas sat up suddenly, shaking and looking terrified. I knew it was from how my dad must have sounded just like his father, and I instantly felt horrible, rushing to his side to make sure he was alright. My mind had gone blank to the fact that my dad was still standing there, so I took Cas' hand and softly brushed a few strands of hair out of his face and rested my hand on his cheek. Our faces were close enough to feel each others breath. I rested my forehead against his and he stopped shaking.

"Hey. It's okay. You're fine," I said. When he saw me next to him, I saw him relax at least 90% as he and smiled a little. Then he tensed up again, pulling away slightly and looking up at my father. I mentally slapped myself before standing up to say something to my dad, only to see that he had left the room. I was relieved at the moment, that I didn't have to talk to him right then, but I knew I would have to sooner rather than later. The fact that he walked away without saying anything could have meant anything. He could have been sleepy and not cared, he could have strongly suspected Cas and me and had gotten angry, he could have felt awkward and left. I didn't know what to think or if I should follow my dad, but I decided not to. If he had any suspicion that would cause a problem, he would say so... right? I sighed and turned back to Cas. He looked full of fear sorrow. I knelt down by him.

"We're okay, Cas. Don't worry," I said, and he reached out his hands towards mine. We sat there like that for just a moment before I kissed him on the forehead and got up.

"I'm gonna hop in the shower. You okay?" I said, grabbing a towel. I wasn't sure if Cas was gonna be okay by himself, but I knew my dad wouldn't dare do anything to him.

"Yes, Dean. I'm alright," he said. I nodded and went to the shower. The hot water on my skin was soothing, but I finished quickly, not wanting Cas to be by himself for too long. When I walked back into my room, he wasn't there and I worried for just a second before reminding myself that he was in _my _house, and he was safe there no matter what. I got dressed and walked out to the kitchen to see Cas and Sam sitting at the table eating waffles. My dad was nowhere in sight, and I assumed he had gone to work. Cas looked better. He was talking to Sam and smiling. Just seeing him smile like that made my stomach do a flip.

"Hey, guys," I said, sitting down at the table.

"Hi, Dean. Dad made waffles! He's been so weird..." Sam said. I was wondering if it had anything to do with what happened in my room, but I ignored those thoughts and went for some waffles.

"Have you considered that maybe he's just happy to see us?" I said, not wanting to drag Sam in on everything going on inside my head. He shrugged and I notice Cas' face fell a little. I rested my foot against his, trying to comfort him with no words.

We finished breakfast and left the house after getting our books together. I dropped Sam off at his school and I was kind of relieved to be going to school. My dad wasn't there, Cas' dad wasn't there, all we had to worry about was the other students, but that usually wasn't too bad. I knew Cas was happy to be going back to school too. He didn't talk much on the way there, but I knew it wasn't because of me.

"How are you, Cas?" I asked after I parked the Impala in the school parking lot.

"I think you know very well, Dean," he said with a humorless twitch of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

"I know, I know. But you can talk to me. You know that, right?"

"Yes. It's just that- right now I don't even know what to think, and trying to form anything into sentences could prove to be difficult."

"Okay. That's okay. But when you do know what to think and what to say, I'm here." Cas smiled at me. I didn't want to pressure Cas into talking to me, but it was kind of hard to tell what was going on inside his head sometimes. I leaned in and kissed him gently before leaving the car and walking into the school.

The morning went on without much happening. I wished I had at least some classes with Cas, but I knew that Ash and Jo had some with him so he should be okay. I was in the locker room after football practice when things got bad, though. I suddenly felt someone shove me up against my locker forcefully, and I winced in pain as they twisted my wrist unnaturally. It was Uriel and his two goons.

"Hey, Winchester," Uriel hissed.

"What do you want, Uriel," I said, trying to focus on anything but the stabbing pain in my arm.

"You know, Dean, you really had us fooled. We never would have thought you were a fag. Well done," Uriel said before he punched me in jaw. He had let my wrist go, but the pain remained, along with the throbbing I felt in my face. I stayed silent and didn't retaliate. I knew that if I did, and we got caught, I would get detention and they would call my dad. With everything going on, that would make things at least ten times more complicated.

"What's the matter, Dean? Cas got you tongue?" Uriel and his friends laughed. I started to get angrier at them mentioning Cas. I could take a beating, but I didn't want them to have anything to do with Cas. There was suddenly another hit on my cheek and could feel my skin split under my eye, just from the force. He hit me again. Then again, and the hits had begun to start on my ribs and stomach. When the pain was unbearable, I finally yelled out.

"Stop!" I moaned. It wasn't loud, due to being so weak, but I hoped that maybe I would get the attention of a teacher, or _someone_, outside the locker room.

"What? I thought we were having fun, and what are you trying to do? Call for you little boyfriend? No good. He's not gonna come. He's just a pathetic little fa-" I cut him off by hitting him full force on the bridge of his nose, and then twisting his arm behind his back so he can't get away. I ran him into a locker and he fell to the ground. I couldn't stand hearing them say anything more about Cas, so that was the last straw. The burst of adrenaline was strange and startling, but proved to be very helpful. I left before his friends could come at me and before we could get caught. As I walked through the halls, I kept thinking and hoping that Uriel wouldn't go after Cas. I didn't think he would because he knows me and went after _me_ personally, but I wouldn't be able to stand it if anything more happened to Cas. I knew there would be questions from so many people, considering the obvious damage on my face, not to mention that I was clutching my stomach as I walked, but I could only tell some people the truth. I also knew Cas would be worried if he saw me, but I wanted to see him, I needed to know he was okay. My wrist felt nearly broken and I knew my face was purple and bleeding, but I used the small time I had before class looking for Cas. I didn't find him before I had to go to biology, so I had to wait for lunch. I wiped some of the blood off of my face with my sleeve, but didn't think about doing much else.

We had classes back-to-back before lunch, so I didn't get a chance to see Cas. When the bell finally rang, I practically ran through the halls towards the cafeteria. I saw him sitting at our usual table. He had just sat down, so Benny, Ash, and Jo weren't there yet. He looked okay, but I had to make sure before I could put my mind at rest. I rushed over, slightly out of breath.

"Cas! Are you okay?" I said quietly, but frantically. He looked up and gasped.

"Dean! What happened? Are you alright?!" He said much louder than I had been speaking. I sat down next to him, wanting to talk before our friends came over to the table.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry. Are you alright?" I asked.

"Dean, I'm fine! Would you please tell me what the fuck happened to you?!"

"It was Uriel and his dick sidekicks," I said, sighing with relief that Uriel hadn't done anything to Cas, "I'm fine though." Cas took my hand and I winced at the sharp pain that shot through my arm from my wrist. He pulled back and then gently took my wrist again to look at it. I noticed it was swollen and purple in one spot. It hurt like hell, but I didn't think it was quite that bad.

"Dean, this is bad. Did you go to the nurse?" Cas asked. He had that all-too-familiar terrified look, and I felt the guilt in my stomach.

"No. It's fine, Cas. I'm fine."

"Dean, please." Cas looked at me with his ridiculous puppy dog eyes and I knew that I was done for.

"Fine." I said with a sigh. He practically dragged me up out of my seat and into the hallway toward the nurse's office. I knew they would need to know the story, so I tried to make something up in my head as we walked. Then, I realized that Cas couldn't be involved in any of this or else the school would call his father.

"Cas, hold on," I said as we stopped in the hallway, "As far as they know, you are just a concerned student that walked me here. If they found out everything that happened involved you at all, they'll call your dad." Cas nodded and we continued down the hall. I could tell he wasn't too comfortable with lying, but he knew there was no other choice. As we were walking, the pain in my face suddenly spread to my head and I started to get dizzy. I tried to keep walking. We were close to the nurse's office and then I could sit down. Cas noticed me struggling to walk in a straight line, and caught me before I fell. He wrapped my arm around his shoulders and supported me for the short distance we had left to go. When we walked in, Cas sat me down on a chair, and the nurse gasps quietly.

"What happened?" She asked, taking some paper towels and alcohol from a shelf. I had started to see normally, but the pain stuck around. I hadn't quite processed the question right away, so Cas was

about to say something when I finally spoke,

"I fell. Down the stairs," I said. The nurse didn't look convinced, but she continued cleaning the cuts on my face. Cas looked scared, his hands were shaking just enough for me to notice.

"Here," the nurse handed the paper towels to Cas, "clean his face where its bleeding. I will wrap his wrist when I get back. I have to go have a word with Principal Tran." I was really hoping that wouldn't happen. If they found out that I was in a fight, they would call my dad and I would probably get detention if not worse. I wasn't sure what my dad had been thinking about that morning, but I was sure that this would not help his anger, or confusion, or whatever the hell he was feeling.

"I'm sorry, Dean," Cas said, cleaning my cheek after moving closer than anyone else would.

"Cas, just don't. This isn't on you," I said, taking his hand from my cheek where he was cleaning, "I'm okay."

"Stop saying that. You are not okay. Nothing is okay!" Cas said. I kind of agreed with him. Everything seemed to be going fine, and then all of the sudden, everything went to shit.

"Yeah, you're right. Everything has gotten kind of fucked. But we'll get through it, and everything will be fine. I promise, Cas. I'm not letting it end like this," I said holding his hand tight. He smiled a little and kissed me quickly, but meaningfully, knowing the nurse and/or principal could come in at any moment. Cas continued to clean the blood off my face until the nurse came back into the room to wrap my wrist and give me painkillers-_ thank god_.

"Dean, Principal Tran would like to speak to you in her office. Castiel, you can go now. Thank you very much," the nurse said, nodding at Cas. He looked at me with concerning eyes before reluctantly walking out of the office. I went to Mrs. Tran's office and sat down in a chair placed before her desk.

"Mr. Winchester. Seems you've taken quite the fall," she said, referring to my beaten face and wrapped wrist.

"Yes, ma'am. Those darn slippery stairways got me again," I said with a smirk.

"And you are positive that these injuries were simply caused by that?" She asked, suspiciously. "Because Nurse Rowena says that your injuries look as if they were caused by _someone_."

"I can assure you, ma'am, I slipped in the hallway and fell down the stairs. That's all," I said, starting to get nervous. She was pushing for a different answer, and there was no way I was giving it to her. I was sure that she had heard rumors around the school about me, and I wouldn't be surprised if she was anticipating something like this to happen about it, but that didn't mean that I would tell and get myself into trouble. Cas needed me, and I had to be there for him as much as I possibly could. After a few more minutes of assuring Mrs. Tran that I was telling the truth, she let me out of her office. Lunch had already ended, so I had to rush to my class. I hadn't seen Uriel around since the fight, and I was wondering where he was and what he would say about his, most likely, broken nose.

When the day finally ended, it felt like the morning had been a million years ago. I collapsed into the the drivers seat of the Impala with a heavy sigh, closing my eyes for a moment as I rested my head against the seat. Cas slid into the car just a few moments later with very similar actions.

"Hey, babe," I said lazily.

"How are you feeling, Dean?" Cas asked, cupping my cheek with his palm. It didn't hurt. His touch was soft and comforting. I was glad I was there with him, right then. That was all I needed to re-boost my energy. I still had no idea how he did it to me, but being with him made me feel warm, and like everything was okay, even if everything was very much _not _okay.

"I'm fine. Really. I'm just glad to be going home," I said, honestly. Cas smiled and we finally drove away from the school.

I was going to talk to my dad when I got home. I couldn't stand waiting for him to come to me about what he saw. It could have been nothing and he couldn't care less, but I just had to know. When we picked up Sam from school, he had a similar reaction to Cas' when he saw my face. It wasn't as panicked, but still concerned. I contemplated telling him the truth, but decided it would be best to keep him as far out of the loop as possible. I didn't want him to worry about me- or Cas for that matter. After some time of convincing Sam that I had fallen and not been beat up, we arrived back at my house and I could see Cas' uneasiness about coming back to- yet again- another home there was a homophobic and intimidating father. My dad would never hurt me, or Sam, or any kid, ever. But he does have the power of kicking us out, and that would make things-_ hard_\- to say the very least. Not knowing what my dad was thinking and what he'd do was almost excruciating. Cas had been through enough, and he needed to be somewhere safe. I didn't think that that was too much to ask. We got out of the Impala and walked into the house. I knew my dad was home because his truck was parked in the driveway. When we walked in, it was like there was a wall of aroma that hit us. The smell of vegetables and roasting chicken, and bread filled the house. I thought that maybe Uncle Bobby and Aunt Ellen had come over, considering that we only have meals like that when Ellen cooks, but when we walked into the kitchen, there was only my dad. Was it a good sign? Was he just doing it to fuck with me? No. That's insane. It has nothing to do with Cas and me. He's my father and he's making us dinner. That's normal... Just not in our house.

"Hey, boys. Set the table, would ya?" He said, barely turning away from the stove. Sam looked as shocked as I was, but we all went ahead and set the table. When we were done, my dad had finished dinner and went to watch TV while it was in the oven. I couldn't wait any longer to talk to him, so I went into the living room while Cas was working on homework in my room and Sam was in his own room.

"Dad? Can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked, sitting down. He turned off the TV and sighed. I was sure that he knew what I was going to say.

"Dean. I know what this is about, and I don't wanna hear it," he said.

"Dad, just listen. It was nothing, this morning. Cas had had nightmares and he was still shaken up, so I was just trying to calm him down," I said as my dad started to look irritated.

"Dean! I said I don't wanna hear it."

"What is that even supposed to mean?" I was starting to get frustrated with his response.

"It means that you can do whatever the hell you want, but I don't want to hear about it, see it, or ever have anything to do with it. Don't speak to me about it again. Castiel can stay here for as long as he needs to, but this discussion will never come up again. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." I walked away before he said anything else and I could feel my heart beating in my chest. I was so relieved, but at the same time, I wished my dad would have said more about it. But it didn't matter. All that mattered was that Cas could stay. I was also relieved that I didn't have to deal with my father's reaction to my broken face. Sometimes I would come home with injuries from football, and he didn't care too much for those, but I think that time he just wanted to see the least of me that he could. Then, I realized that we hadn't heard anything from Cas' father. Yes, Cas turned his phone off, but wouldn't his father call the school or even the police? I pushed the thoughts away for the moment and focused on what was happening right then. I walked into my room and Cas was sitting on the floor with books and papers sprawled out on the floor around him. He was focused on what he was writing and didn't notice me walk in right away. I smiled to myself. He finally noticed me when I sat down at my desk.

"Were you talking to your dad?" He asked.

"Ah, yeah. Um, about this morning. I just wanted to know- You know..." I trailed off, hoping Cas would understand what I was trying to say.

"Oh." He looked- guilty. I guess I could see why he would think it was his fault, but I never thought of it that way. I knew I would have to come out to my dad sooner or later, and if it was sooner, then it would be with Cas no question. It still bewildered me, the effect Cas had on me. It was actually sort of scary- but not in a bad way- it was just scary to feel so strongly about someone after practically just meeting them.

"It's okay though. He's not exactly in love with the idea, but he said he doesn't care as long as we make it so he doesn't have to- I don't know- see." Cas looked shocked. It was like he was ready for me to kick him out on the streets, and I had just told him that he could stay.

"Really? So... I can stay?" He said quietly. Not because he was trying to be quiet. His voice was just so small. So _broken_.

"Of course you can, Cas. I told you we would be okay, didn't I? If my dad had a problem with it, then we would figure something else out. We would find somewhere else to go," I said, getting up to sit down next to him.

"I don't think I have thanked you enough, Dean," he said, looking me in the eyes.

"Yes, you have."

Cas looked better after that. He was still tired and anxious, but he knew he was safe up until he had to see his father again. I wondered about his father so much. Why hadn't we heard anything from him? Why hadn't he contacted the school? It was almost as if he was okay with Cas being out of his life. I was okay with that, but there was so much more that needed to be worked out. Was his father just going to abandon him? I didn't know what to think, so I tried not to. I went on to school the rest of the week. I was still terrified that Uriel would do something to Cas, but there wasn't much I could do about it. I also hadn't been confronted by Uriel again, which was good, but there was so much that I didn't know. Was he going to leave me alone for good? Was he scared off by the broken nose I gave him? Or had he just moved on from me and was going to go after Cas, after all? So many questions were overflowing my mind and I tried to focus on just getting the school week over with and making sure Cas was okay through it.

By Friday, things were settling down. Uriel did nothing but his usual name calling in the halls and the bruises on my face were fading into light purple and yellow. I still couldn't use my left hand and my ribs still ached constantly, but it was getting better. Cas had nightmares every night, but they were beginning to settle down. My last period of the day had finally ended and I was walking past the main office when I saw a man talking loudly to the secretary. He seemed angry and intense. I couldn't make out what he was saying exactly, but I stopped in my tracks when I head him say "Castiel". I didn't know what to do. Was that Cas' father? Had he finally come to find him? I needed to know more, so I casually walked over a sat on a bench across the room, appearing to be waiting for someone.

"What do you mean you don't know?!" The man's voice boomed through the room. "My son hasn't been home in days! Find him at once!"

"Mr. Novak, sir, school has already let out. We are not responsible for the students once they are off of school property," the secretary said. Her voice was stern, but still so small compared to Cas' father's. He stormed out of the school and I felt like I was stuck to that bench. Like my legs didn't work and there was no way that I could get up and tell Cas that his father had come to the school. I knew that it would happen eventually, but I wasn't ready. All I wanted was for Cas to be safe and _happy_. I really didn't understand how that was too much to ask. I sat there, frozen with my thoughts, until I heard the voice of the kind secretary interrupting me,

"Time to go, honey. I've gotta lock the doors in five minutes." She sounded sorry, and I was embarrassed at first, but then I realized that Cas must have been waiting at the car for a while. _Oh, God. And Sam._

"Fuck!" I said before racing out the door. The parking lot was empty except for the Impala, with Cas sitting on the hood. Normally I would have been pissed at anyone sitting on Baby like that, but it was Cas, and I had kept him waiting there for twenty minutes.

"Cas! Shit, I am so sorry," I said running up to the car. "Something happened."

"Dean, what's wrong?" Cas asked getting down from his seat on my car.

"Your dad was here," I said, more calmly. Cas started looking around the parking lot, trying his best to keep calm.

"Wha- what did he- um- what did he want?" Cas asked. He started to shake. He usually would when his father came up. I took his hands and he looked up at me.

"He was looking for you. But he left and school won't be back until Tuesday, after the long weekend, so don't worry, okay?"

"What about when we have to go back? What are we going to do then?" Cas started to sound frantic. He had a point, and I wasn't sure what to say because I wasn't sure what to do. His father probably would be back at the school on Tuesday, and there was no way I was letting Cas go with him. I just wasn't sure what to do to make it so Cas stayed with me.

"I don't know! But I am _not _letting you go back there with him," I said. He took a deep breath and let go of my hands.

"I know, Dean," he leaned against the car, "I just wish I wasn't such a burden to you."

"A _burden_? Cas, you can't honestly think that you're a fucking burden!" I couldn't really believe what I was hearing. Could he have really thought that? Had I acted as though he was? I thought he knew that I was there for him, that I was happy to be with him.

"Dean, you were doing fine here before I came. All I've done is fuck your life up." Cas was looking straight into my eyes. He really _truly _thought that he was a _burden_. "It's all my fault."

"Cas. If you ever think that you aren't the best thing that ever happened to me-" I sighed heavily, trying to get a hold of myself. "Just don't ever think like that, kay? It's not true." Cas looked down at his shoes. "Alright?"

"Alright."

We left to pick up a very annoyed and impatient Sam, and finally went home. I was still thinking about what to do about Cas' dad, no matter how hard I tried to think about something else. I just needed to enjoy the weekend with Cas and relax. When we pulled up to my house, I noticed a black BMW parked in the driveway.

"No. No, no, no, no. Please, no," Cas said. He started shaking violently. _Oh God. His dad. His dad. _I started to panic. _This isn't happening. This is so not happening. No fucking way._ I parked the car.

"Stay here. I'll go in. Just stay here, okay? We're fine. Just wait. You too, Sammy," I said, holding Cas' hand tightly before getting out of the car. I had now idea what the hell I was doing. What was I gonna say? 'Oh, hi. I am the reason you beat your son and he left you, and now I'm never gonna let you take him home'? Well, that was what made the most sense to me. I didn't think my heart had ever beat faster than right then. I was surprised I could see straight. When I finally got to the door, I turned the door knob and slowly opened the door. I heard voices in the kitchen and walked in a little quicker.

"Dean. Good, you're home," my father said. Cas' dad's back was turned to me and when they both stood up, he turned around and he looked just like he did earlier at school.

"Dean, I've heard a lot about you," he said. He gave me the most evil and hateful look, and my dad hardly noticed. "I'm Mr. Novak." He reached out his hand but I ignored it, looking into his eyes.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Novak?" I asked, trying to sound polite, but it was hard.

"Well, I asked around and figured out that the famous Dean Winchester lived here, so I thought I would come and see if my son was staying with you. He hasn't been home in a few days and I've started to worry," he said, not looking like he had a hint of worry in him.

"You've just started to worry now, huh?" I asked. I didn't see my dad joining in the conversation anytime soon, but it was probably better that way.

"Well, before he left, he was upset about a petty argument we had, so I assumed he has been staying with a friend. Which brings us back to; is Castiel here?" He had begun to look irritated by my attitude, which made sense. I wasn't exactly being helpful, but I never intended to be. I looked over at my dad, hoping he could read my mind and answer my question of '_did you tell him_'. I hadn't told by dad about the things that Mr. Novak did to Cas, but he was usually pretty good at reading people. He shook his head at me.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Novak, but I can't help you. I have only seen Castiel at school. He hasn't been here," I said. My voice was solid, but my mind was racing and I could feel my heartbeat in my sweaty palms. He sighed, not looking pleased or convinced with my answer.

"Alright then. Thank you." He begun to get his jacket on and I remembered that Cas was still in my car. I shot Sam a text, telling them to duck down in the Impala until Mr. Novak left.

"Sorry we couldn't be more help," my dad said as Mr. Novak opened the door to leave.

"Just tell me if you hear anything from him," he said, emotionless, before walking out the door. A minute later, the door flung open and Cas ran in and threw his arms around me, hiding his face in my neck.

"Hey, babe. Told you we're fine, didn't I?" I said, smiling. He pulled away.

"What happened? What did he say? Does he know I'm here?" He asked. I could see the remainder of a few tears that he had wiped away. I reached up to wipe some of the wetness below his eye away.

"No, he doesn't know, and he won't be coming back here."

"What about school?" He asked as the brief moment of relief vanished from both of us.

"We'll figure that out. But in the meantime, let's just chill, okay?" I said. He finally relaxed and smiled.

"Alright, Dean," he said before going to our room to leave my father and me. I stood there awkwardly while he sat at the kitchen table. He didn't look up at me when he spoke,

"So... Would care to explain?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, there! So, here's another chapter... again, I hope you don't hate it. Sorry about the rating change to M, but the story got a little more intense than I expected and I want to play it safe. I'm still really new to this and really do not want to upset anyone.**

**Anyway, thank you for the follows/views and a very special thank you to the wonderful person that reviewed! You have no idea how much it means to me and I hope that you are not disappointed with the chapters to come. OKAY, that's enough chit-chat. Hope you enjoy!**

**Oh, and please please please feel free to point out any kind of errors you see. :)**

**Warning: Domestic abuse**

I slowly sat down at the table. I knew that I had to tell my dad about everything with Cas. He could actually help if he knew, but I felt like I was betraying Cas. I didn't really know what to say at first, so I just sat there for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts and finally answer my father.

"Dean. Did you hear me? Please explain yourself," he said, now looking up at me with stern and unreadable eyes.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. So... Um- well, recently, Cas and I-" I didn't know what to say. He already knew about Cas and me, so why was it so hard to say it out loud? "Cas and I came out at school. Somehow Cas' dad found out and he flipped. Dad, he- he hurt Cas," I blurted out. My voice became a little shaky at the last bit, but I hoped that my dad didn't catch it. "Cas had to hide from him until he left their house for the night. Dad, he can't go back there. Please." My dad huffed out a breath.

"Did you tell anyone else about this? About the abuse?"

"No."

"And the other day, when you came home beaten and bleeding, was that- did he do that to you?"

"No. That wasn't him."

"Then who?"

"Dad, this isn't about me! This is about Cas. We can't let him back there." I didn't know why my dad cared so much about my wounds then, as apposed to when it actually happened.

"Okay, so what exactly would you like me do to, Dean?" That question stopped me for a second. What did I want him to do?

"I don't know. But we need to do something. Dad, you can't possibly be okay with Cas going back there with his father!" I still didn't know what to expect from him, but I knew that I expected more than that. He was a good man, so I really thought that he would help more. I thought he would understand. Was it only because Cas and I were together? I couldn't really believe that he was capable of being that low. He sat there, looking at me sternly. I couldn't read what he was thinking and it was driving me crazy. His face subtly turned to pity. Maybe even a hint of sorrow.

"Dean, I'm sorry. There isn't anything I can do. Castiel is a minor and his father has a right to bring him home."

"No! He doesn't have the right to have anything to do with Cas!" I was shouting at that point, not caring anymore. After all of that, Cas couldn't just go back. There had to be something we could do.

"Dean! Stop. Cas can stay, but when his dad figures out that he really _is _here, you have to understand that there is nothing that we can do about it." My dad looked sorry, but I didn't care. I wanted to understand, but I couldn't. It wasn't fair. Cas wasn't safe in his own home and he didn't have a choice but to go back there. It was all just so fucked, and I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I got up from my chair, not wanting to discuss it anymore, at least with my father. I never remembered feeling so lost. I felt like I needed to fix everything, but I couldn't. I was walking to my room to get my jacket because I needed some air. When I turned the corner to the hallway out of the kitchen, I immediately saw Cas standing there. I almost ran into him. He was looking at the ground with tears close to falling from his eyes, stabling himself against the wall. _Shit. _He heard everything.

"Cas-"

"It's alright, Dean. I'm fine," Cas cut me off, before going back to my room without further discussion. I followed him, but wasn't sure what I was going to say once I caught up. I didn't want to let him go back with his father, but I felt like it was inevitable at that point. His father already suspected that he was there at my house, so it was only a matter of time before he really figured it all out. It was like there was no escape. Everything was going so fast, it was like I had no time to even process what was happening, and it had been like that for days. My life suddenly got so complicated after meeting Cas, but it wasn't like he said. He hadn't fucked my life up at all. Since I met him, things felt right, even though it was all so very, very, wrong. It was confusing, but every time I was with him- _really _with him, it was okay and normal, and just natural in every way. I still hadn't thought of what to say to him right then, but I walked into my room after him anyway. He was standing in the middle of the room with his hand in his hair and looking like he was trying his best not to cry.

"Cas," I started, hoping he would speak first because my brain still hadn't formed words to say.

"It's fine, Dean. It will probably be better for me not to be here, anyway. You won't have to deal with as much of this shit. I mean- he's looking for me now, so maybe he'll be better. I'll be fine," he said as the tears he had been controlling started to escape his eyes and roll slowly down his cheeks.

"Cas."

"No, really. It's okay. I don't have a choice anyway, right? And I can talk to him. Maybe he'll understand and won't-"

"Cas!" I yelled. He looked like he was on the verge of full out sobbing and he needed to stop talking like that. I couldn't hear anymore of it. I thought I was going to explode. "Just stop."

"What, Dean? I'm just trying to figure out wha- what to do-" he trailed off and he sat down on the floor, leaning his back against my bed frame. He stopped talking and just sat there, tears rolling down his face. I went over and sat down next to him.

"Look, I'll be honest. I have no fucking clue what to do or what to think, either. But I do know that I am _not _leaving you. Ever. Understand?" I said, looking at him, but he wasn't looking back.

"No. I don't understand. Look at what's going on, Dean! Do you really think you're better off having to deal with all of this? Like I said before; this never should have happened. All I ever do is fuck up the lives of people I love." He was looking at me now. I couldn't say anything. _Love._ Did he say _love_? But he also said- again- that this never should have happened and that he fucked up my life. What did it take to get him to understand that he was wrong?

"Cas, for God's fucking sake. Do you have any idea how amazing you are? My life was a disaster before you. I was miserable. Why can't you just accept that I'm here, and that I care about you? Like, _really _care about you." I moved to face him and take his hand tightly in mine.

"Your life is a disaster now, and I can't imagine that you were less miserable then. Just because of me. I should have known this would happen again."

"Why can't you understand? I'm happier with you than I have ever been! It doesn't matter what else we're gonna have to deal with. I _want _to be here, with you." Cas' tears had stopped and he was looking into my eyes with those crazy blue ones. He didn't say anything for a little while, he just stared.

"You're telling the truth," he said.

"Wha- Cas, of course I am." He sighed, and held my hand tighter. "Why would I lie?"

"I don't know. No one has ever told me why." Cas had told me before what happened at his old school, but not in detail. It was almost overwhelming, wondering what exactly happened that made it so hard for him to trust. I didn't say anything. I stood up, helping him up with me, and went to my bed. Leaning back on the wooden frame behind my pillows, I gently pulled Cas by the hand to come lay beside me. He did, without hesitation, and we lay there in silence. I hoped he hadn't noticed the single tear that had escaped and fallen from my face. I didn't notice it until it was already gone. I also wasn't expecting it. I had just been so deep in thought, with Cas in my arms and everything that was going on.

Then next morning, I woke up with Cas beside me. We had fallen asleep together the night before, but it wasn't my intention. I didn't think my dad would be at all okay with Cas in my bed with me, so I never considered it being a possibility. It was so calming to wake up with Cas, though. It was just so comfortable, that I didn't remember everything from the night before right away. But, of course, I did. Cas stirred and opened his eyes. We had moved from where we fell asleep, but we were still so close. He smiled at me. He had looked slightly stressed as he slept, like he normally did, but I didn't remember him having a nightmare. When he woke up and saw me, though, he looked better. He usually wasn't exactly the most pleasant morning person in the world, but I thought that he was cute when he was sleepy and grumpy. It was nice to see him smile like that, though. I thought to myself that maybe he had forgotten the night before, as well. We didn't say anything. We just looked at each other, smiling. Smiling to each other, smiling to ourselves, smiling to the whole damn world, I had no idea. He reached his hand out and ran it along the side of my face. So softly and slowly, it was just barely a touch. When he placed his hand more solidly on my cheek, he leaned in and kissed me. The past few days had been hard and we had kissed, sure, but not like that. That was like the first time we had ever kissed. Cas' lips fit so perfectly on mine. Even when we moved faster and we had begun exploring the inside of each others mouths, it was still gentle and meaningful. We got even closer and we fit together so perfectly, it was like we were pieces in a puzzle. When the kiss broke, we were holding each other chest to chest and I could feel the expansion of our lungs as they looked for air that seemed to not exist.

"Morning," I whispered. Cas smiled again before nuzzling his face in my chest. That was our whole Saturday morning. Just lying there, kissing lazily, and talking about anything that had nothing to do with the whole situation. The situation that we would have to deal with later on. That morning was so amazing, that I completely forgot about my dad's rule, and forgot to worry about him walking in. Thank God, he didn't walk in once. By the time we finally got up to eat breakfast, it was about lunch time and my dad and Sam were in the kitchen making sandwiches. Cas and I walked in after getting changed and when Sam saw us, he raised an eyebrow and smirked at me. I flipped him off before my dad turned and saw us.

"Well you two slept like teenagers on a Saturday morning," he said.

"But we are teenagers on a- oh," Cas said quiet enough for only me to hear. I chuckled and kissed him on the cheek, but only when my dad turned back to his sandwich making and couldn't see.

"You boys hungry?" My dad asked.

"Yes," we both said in unison. He laughed at us and made us sandwiches. Everything seemed okay for most of that day. My father was actually acting like a father, Cas was happy for the first time in days, Sam was weird and nerdy as usual, and everything was fine. We ate, we talked, we laughed. The day was perfect, until 3:37pm, and then every single thing that had been going good for us was gone. When we heard the aggressive knock at the door, we froze. I looked at my dad, then at Cas, then back at my dad as he got up and went to answer the door. When he was out of sight, I moved closer to Cas on the couch, taking his trembling hands. Suddenly, reality came crashing down on us once again as my dad walked back into the room with a pissed off Mr. Novak. Castiel immediately flinched at the sight of his father, and my stomach turned into a knot. I felt like I was going to throw up, but I had to keep it together. For Cas. Even for myself.

"Castiel!" His father yelled. "You will be coming home at once!" _No, no, no, no, no. This isn't happening. Not yet. We still have the rest of the weekend, at least. This can't happen. He can't go back. _

"Ye- yes, sir. S- sorry, sir," Cas said, releasing my hands and standing up. He was on the very edge of shaking violently, and I had to stop it. I had to stop everything. But how?

"No, wait! No, you can't go, Cas. We can find another way," I said, standing up. I knew it was no use. I knew there wasn't anything I could do, but it was so hard to accept.

"Goodbye, Dean." I watched as Cas walked out. His father's firm grip on his shoulder.

_**No.**_

The next two days passed by slower than anything I had ever experienced. The days were repetitive. I would call Cas, I would text him, I would e-mail him. I would even go to his house, but there was no answer. Not even a simple text message back, at least saying that he was okay. I didn't sleep at all, and I didn't remember the last time I ate a full meal. I just hid in my room, calling Cas, and so on. I drove around town, too. Looking in places that I thought Cas might go, but I never saw him. The time before school was back was excruciating, but when it finally came, I didn't know what to expect. All I knew was that I needed to see Cas. After I dropped Sam off, I sped to school not even considering the possibility of getting pulled over. When I finally got to school, I ran in straight towards Cas' locker. He wasn't there yet so I waited, pacing. After a few minutes, the hallways were beginning to get busier and more full of students, so it was harder to look around for Cas. I was getting anxious and I desperately searched the crowd with my eyes, not wanting to leave the spot next to his locker. Then, I saw him, and my heart broke into more pieces than I could count. Most of his body was hidden under multiple pieces of clothing, but the dark bruises that covered his face were impossible to miss. When I looked closer, I noticed a small limp in his walk and his eyes were red and bloodshot. As he got even closer I could see his face more clearly, and that there were not only bruises, but deep scratches that were swollen and had barely started to heal. When he finally looked up and saw me, he stopped, and before I could say anything, he turned around and started walking briskly to who knows where. I didn't expect that. Wouldn't he be glad to see me? I assumed it was his father keeping him away from me, but maybe it was him. Maybe he hated me. He had a right to, after all. If it wasn't for me, his father wouldn't of hurt him. If it wasn't for me, he would feel safe in his own fucking home. It was all my fault. I ran after him, hoping that the thoughts I had weren't true.

"Cas!" I yelled, finally catching up to him and gently placing my hand on his shoulder to stop him. He flinched intensely and hissed in pain as he stopped and turned around, taking himself from my grasp. _Oh God. Shit, shit, shit. I didn't mean to- oh my God. _I hardly touched him and his reaction was as if I had stabbed him in the shoulder with a dull knife. He looked at me for a second and his eyes were wet and tired. I swore they screamed _help. _

"Cas..." Was all I said. I didn't feel that I needed to say anything else. I could tell he understood. He looked away suddenly and took a step backward.

"What do you want, Dean?" He said bitterly. It wasn't right. He didn't talk like that to anyone. What had I done? He still wasn't making eye contact.

"Cas, please. What happened?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. I have to go." And with that, he turned around and walked off. I was left speechless. Speechless, confused, angry, frustrated, angry, sad, disappointed, angry, devastated, and so _fucking _angry. I was ready to go find Cas' dad and beat the living shit out of him. But first, I needed to know that Cas was alright. I had no idea why he was acting the way he was towards me, and it hurt like hell, but I just really needed to know what was going on. I knew that the bruises were from his dad, but I wasn't sure how bad and how many there were. He had a hood up over his head and the only part of him that was really showing was his face. His face that barely had an inch of flesh untouched. When I touched his shoulder he was nearly doubled over in pain and he was limping. Thinking of all that brought the powerful anger that I had tried to overcome seeping back into me. It was overwhelming and I didn't know what to do with it. I considered calling the police, but then what? Even if they could take Cas' father away, Cas would probably go into some foster care program or go back to Iowa. But at least he would be away from his dad. The bell for first period snapped me back from my thoughts and I rushed to class, thinking that I would try to find something to do later. There was nothing I could do right then. I tried not to completely lose my shit all through my classes before lunch. I was surprised when none of my teachers called me out on not paying any attention to their lessons. I tried (but didn't succeed) not to think too much about Cas. I would talk to him at lunch and I couldn't do anything until then. When lunch finally came around, I went to his locker before going to the cafeteria, knowing that he typically went there to drop his books off. He was already there by the time I arrived.

"Cas," I said quietly from behind him. He spun around and looked at me in fear.

"Dean, please. Just go away," he said after quickly recovering.

"Why? Cas, please talk to me. Look at you- you-" I stopped speaking, looking again at the marks that covered his face. I could feel the tears building in the back of my eyes and I just had to stop for a moment, trying to get the heavy feeling in my head to leave. "Are you okay?" I finally asked.

"I'm fine. Please, just stay away from me," he said, starting to walk away. I stopped him, making sure not to touch his shoulder. But even when I stopped him by his wrist, he winced slightly.

"No. I'm not just gonna leave. Just give me five minutes to talk. Please, Cas," I said with obvious desperation in my voice. He nodded, looking at the ground. He hadn't made eye contact with me since we started talking. He followed me to a hallway around the corner and into a janitor's closet.

"This is uncomfortable," he said, hesitating before walking in.

"It's private and the biggest one I know of," I said, defending my choice of closet. I closed the door behind him and turned on the light.

"Okay, Dean, I'm here. What do you want?" He asked. His voice was a little shaky, as he tried his best to seem uninterested in being inside a small closet with me.

"Cas... Just talk to me. C'mon, what happened? Just tell me you're okay-"

"I said that I'm fine," he cut me off. He was still looking anywhere but at me, and I could see a tear escape from his eye and roll down his swollen cheek. I didn't say anything right away, but reached my hand up to gently palm his cheek and brush the tear away. It was so gentle and subtle, but a touch none the less. He finally looked at me and I felt like I could breathe for a moment.

"Please, Cas, I don-" my words got caught up in my throat and I swallowed hard, holding back the heavy feeling of tears trying to break through. It was like lead, trying to pull at and burn in my head behind my eyes. But if I gave in, I wouldn't be able to come back and be there for Cas like I had to be. "I don't know what to do. I need to fix this. I need you to be okay. Just tell me what happened... _Please_." We stood there without saying a word. For a second, I thought that I felt Cas lean into the touch of my hand on his cheek, but then it was gone.

"There's nothing to fix, Dean. I have to go," he said as he pulled away and rushed out the door, leaving me without a chance to say anything before he was gone. Again. All I wanted to do was collapse in that janitor's closet and completely lose it. I wanted to stay in there and hide while I cry and scream but I knew I couldn't. I had to fix things. I kept saying that to myself. How I had to _fix everything, _but what could I fix? I had no idea what I was doing. All I wanted was to be with Cas and just be happy and know that he's happy too. Happy and _safe._ I kept saying that, too. _Safe. _But yet again, I had no idea what to do. Eventually, I accepted that all I could do at that moment was keep trying to get through the day. It seemed like Cas would be alright at school, so I just had to keep going and finish the day. Then, I would do something. Anything. I would do anything.

When the bell rang for school to let out, I went outside to wait at the door for Cas. I thought I would try one more time to talk to him and make sure he had a ride home. I had to try. I couldn't stand Cas not talking to me. It was excruciating, mostly because I didn't know why. I didn't know if it was something that I did or something his father said- or something his father did. When Cas walked out of the school, I quickly swooped in front of him and he stopped abruptly.

"Hey," I said.

"Dean, I have to go home," he said, trying to move past me.

"Wa- wait a sec. Do you have a ride home? I can, uh, drive you home if you want."

"I have a ride. Goodbye, Dean." He walked away towards the same BMW that Mr. Novak was driving before. My body filled with rage and I started walking toward the car. Cas had already gotten in, and Mr. Novak started to pull away from the curb.

"Hey! Mr. fucking Novak! Wait, you piece of shit!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. He continued to drive off and I ran after him yelling for about ten yards before finally accepting it wasn't worth it. They were nearly out of sight already. I realized that screaming profanities at him probably did anything but help, but the anger took over again and I couldn't do anything about it. I had to stop the pure rage from exploding any more than it had and walked to the Impala, ignoring the stares from the students that were flooding out of the school. I held my head, gripping at my hair as I got to the car, still cussing without breaks. I needed to get home and tell my dad. We could call the police. No, we couldn't call the police. Maybe my dad could go and talk to Cas' dad. I knew that I couldn't, because he wouldn't answer the damn door every time I went. But what good would that do? I was pacing in the parking lot, violently kicking small to large stones that got in my way. I eventually went to get Sammy and I didn't speak a word to him the whole way to the house. He had been so worried about me all weekend, and I was sure that that made things a lot worse for him, but I didn't know what I would say. I tried my best not to speed the whole way home. The more I kept thinking, the harder my foot fell on the pedal. As soon as I pulled into the driveway, I got out of the car and went straight in to talk to my dad. I burst through the door and went to my dad's office before even putting my bag down. He was at his computer and I should have second guessed interrupting him, but I didn't.

"Dad!" I said more suddenly than I intended, making him jump.

"Jesus Christ, Dean, what-" he stopped, noticing how frantic I was and the tears threatening to burst through in my eyes. "What is it, Dean?"

"It's um- It's Cas," I said, biting my lip that I could feel was about to start quivering. "He won't talk to me and um- dad, he's covered in bruises. He's hurt real bad." My dad looked at me for a moment and I tried extra hard not to fall apart under his stare. I didn't know what I wanted him to do, but I needed his help.

"Okay... And did he say _anything _to you about how they got there?"

"No. But I know his father did it. He was limping, too, and he wouldn't talk and- dad, we need to do something. Please."

"What were you thinking we would do, exactly?" His tone wasn't helpful. It was bottom-line, and the bottom-line was that we couldn't do anything. At least not yet.

"Something! Anything!" That was it. I was losing it. I left the room and went out the door, not thinking. I could hear my dad calling after me but I didn't register what he was saying. I was gone and in the Impala before I knew what I was doing. I pulled out of the driveway and drove down the road towards the small beach. The last time I went there was the day that Cas showed me what his father had done. Thinking back on that day was what finally made the tears fall out of control. I tried to not get so upset. It didn't seem right. Cas was the one going through all of that shit with his father, so I felt like it was wrong. I could only imagine how much worse he must of felt. I was being selfish. When I got to the beach, I walked down the path, trying to calm down. I emerged from the trees and continued onto the sand. The sun was setting above the water, so the beach was lit up with beautiful colors of orange, red, and even purple. I went near the water and sat down on the cool sand. I didn't know what the fuck I was doing there, but it calmed me down a little bit. I needed to see Cas, but I also just needed to think for a while. I knew that Cas needed to get away from his father as soon as possible, but I couldn't do anything without even knowing what I was going to do. The only thing I could think to do was sell my soul for Cas' safety, but then I remembered that wasn't possible. I sat there with drying tears on my face, just thinking. After a little while, I decided to call Cas. I knew it probably wasn't worth it, but I wanted to try. I wanted to hear Cas' voice. I dialed his number and I suddenly heard a ring coming from across the beach. It was coming from the rock that Cas and I sat on before. I walked over- well, more like ran over- and the ringing stopped. There was no one on the rock, but I walked around it cautiously. I had never guessed Cas would be there, but there he was. Sitting up against the tall rock with his knees to his chest.

"Dean?" He asked, startled when he saw me standing above him. "What are you doing here?" I slowly sat down next to him and he moved away slightly.

"Cas," I breathed. It was all that came out. I wanted to say more and I was going to, but that was all that made it's way from my vocal chords.

"I'm gonna go," Cas said, about to stand up. I gently touched his hand to stop him. He froze at the touch and looked at me.

"Please," I whispered.

"Dean, I can't. I- I can't." His voice was starting to shake. "He'll- he'll know."

"No, he won't." I kept a light touch on his hand and he sat back against the rock.

"What?" He asked, staring at our hands.

"Talk to me," I said, starting to run my thumb across his hand soothingly.

"About what?" He replied, still not quite looking at me.

"Cas, stop. Please. I'm done with that shit. I'm losing my fucking mind, here. _Talk to me._" He finally looked up at me. It was getting kinda dark, so I couldn't fully see his face before. When he looked at me I could see his face more clearly, and everything came racing back as my gut clenched at the sight of the darkness and pain the had overtaken his face. I had seen it before, but then, his hood was down and I couldn't help but react again. My stomach twisted I tried not to get angry.

"What if he-" Cas started, but he choked out a sob that caught him before he could finish.

"Hey. Don't think about him. I'm here, he's not," I said. Cas had slightly fallen in towards me, like he was desperate for comfort, but so afraid.

"I'm so sorry," he said. His head was down as he looked at the ground and grasped my hand.

"For what?"

"Everything."

"Cas, stop. Don't apologize. For anything. Now tell me what happened, okay?" I asked just above a whisper, not wanting to push, but I had gone long enough. I needed to know what was going on so I could stop having to guess and wonder, torturing myself.

"He just wouldn't stop." Cas paused. He was speaking so slowly and quietly, like he was terrified that someone was listening in. He had fallen onto me more. Mostly for comfort, but also from weakness, his forehead rested on my shoulder. "I couldn't-" he stopped. I knew what he was saying. I understood. I began to slowly run my fingers through his hair, trying my best not to hurt him. "He had to work late today... I just couldn't be in that house anymore, and I didn't know where else to go."

"Why didn't you come see me?" I asked. Cas didn't speak for a minute and I wondered if maybe he had fallen asleep. Poor guy looked exhausted.

"He said he would kill me if I ever spoke to you again," Cas finally said, even more quietly than before. His voice so weak and helpless. It was almost as if it physically pained him to say the words. I wanted to take my phone out and call the police. I wanted to go find Cas' father and make sure he know never to treat Cas like that again. He needed to pay, one way or another. He couldn't get away with that.

"Cas, we have to call the police," I said.

"No. Please, Dean. We can't fight him. No one can... and maybe he'll stop. He didn't used to be like this."

"Cas, we can't let him get away with this. You can't go back there." Cas had too much faith in his father, when at the same time, he knew that his father was wrong and it needed to stop. I didn't really understand it, but I could clearly see it. He didn't say anything. I guessed that he must have been accepting that he _really _couldn't go back to his father. If he found out about Cas and I meeting, he could _kill him._ Although, the longer Cas didn't say anything, the more I began to think. Thoughts and worries flooded my head. Would he just go back to ignoring me? Would he listen to his father, and never speak to me again? I knew that it was possible for him to be that scared. I had only seen part of what his father had done to him, and just that was worse than _I_ could handle. But even if he was that scared, didn't he trust me? I stopped thinking like that. I was there with Cas, at that moment, and that was what I had been wanting for days. I sighed and rested my head on his, which was still placed on my shoulder.

"What do I do?" He asked. He said it so quietly that I could barely make out what he said. I almost mistook it for a breath. I wasn't sure what he meant at first, so my mind froze.

"You need to stay as far away from him as you possibly can. You can't get hurt again like this, Cas," I replied. I didn't know what else to say. It was true, he needed to stay away from him, but I didn't know how to make that happen. It was the same thing than before, and it was like everything was repeating and I still couldn't do a damn thing. I felt like I was useless. Cas got hurt again because I couldn't help him, and the same thing was going to happen again because I still _couldn't help him._ At least I felt like I couldn't. There we were, sitting at the beach after running away, trying to fix everything- **again**. But I couldn't let that happen to Cas again. This time, he would be safe.

"Dean, how are we supposed to pull this off? He's my dad. I have to go back. There's no other choice," Cas said. His voice was stronger now. Not strong, but not as weak and tired. It was like he was accepting the wrong fact of that he had to go back and get hurt.

"Cas, no. You can't," I said as he started to stand up. When he got to his feet he swayed and almost fell backwards. I quickly stood up to help him and keep him from falling.

"It's fine, Dean," he said, still looking dizzy.

"No, it's not. Cas, you can't."

"I already said, Dean. I don't have a choice. My father will be getting home from work soon and he expects me to be there. If I'm not, then he might know," he said. His voice was fading. "You have to accept this, Dean. I have to go." He pulled away from my arms that were attempting to support him, about to walk away toward the path. I couldn't let him go, but I knew I had to. What was I going to do? I couldn't bring him back to my house. That would be the first place his father would look, and we couldn't risk that.

"We're gonna fix this," I said as he began to walk away. He stopped and turned his head toward me. He looked so deep into my eyes, and for a second I thought I would fall over.

"That's what I thought before," he said, his voice on the edge of breaking. He walked away and I couldn't move. His words made my chest feel like concrete and I couldn't even form the words to offer him a ride home, even though I knew that he would decline. The possibility of his father seeing my car at their house was not something we could risk. I stood there until Cas was far out of sight, probably half way to his house. When I finally moved to drive home, the concrete in my chest broke into pieces and Cas' words still stabbed at my mind. I didn't want to move. I didn't want to keep going, repeating this over and over again. Cas would get hurt again and there would still be nothing I could do about it. I was only in high school. How could I do anything? The only person I thought could help me was my dad, and he wasn't even trying. I walked back to my car with the same thoughts I had been thinking for days racing through my head. It had gotten pretty late, and I could barely see my baby in the dark. I opened the door and the squeak of the old metal was comforting. Everything about that car was comforting. When I turned the key, I heard an abhorrent grinding noise and the car didn't start. I tried again and I again, mumbling swears as the engine neglected to start. When I accepted that I wasn't going to hear the rumble and purr from the hood, I dialed my dad's number.

_Hello?_

"Hey, dad. The Impala won't start and I can't see the hood in the dark. Do you mind coming to pick me up?"

_Sure. Where are you?_

"Umm... I'm at a small lot around the corner, your third left off of May street."

_What the hell, Dean?_

"I'll explain later."

_Fine. Be there in ten._

I hung up and got out of the car. I thought about what I would say to my dad as I leaned against the door, with my hands deep in the pockets of my leather jacket. I supposed that I could just tell him the truth. Everything in my life was so full of lies and fear that I almost forgot when it was okay to tell the truth. I also contemplated whether I should try again to get him to help Cas. It seemed like he had no intention to, but at that point, I felt like he was my only hope.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, guys! I'm sorry I didn't get this up sooner. I reeaaalllyyy hope you don't hate it. You have no idea how much I appreciate all of the follows/favorites and the many views! I never really thought this story would get any... **

**Anyway! I hope you like it, and please please please feel free to tell me any errors you catch! That would be amaazzinngg. Okay, I'll stop talking now.**

**Hope you enjoy! xoxxoxooxoxxoo :)**

When my dad arrived, he pulled up next to me and my baby and the headlights seared into my eyes. I had been standing there in the dark, my thoughts getting deeper as my eyes adjusted to the darkness that had completely overtaken the area. There weren't many streetlights around and I didn't have a flashlight, so I made sure the doors to the Impala were locked, and got into my dad's car.

"Hey, dad. Sorry about this. I just checked her out the other day and she was fine. Don't know what the problem is, but I think it's the engine. Maybe we can have Uncle Bobby come and tow it for us," I said, referring to the Impala.

"Dean, may I ask why I am picking you up at a random lot, in the dark, after you ran out of the house in the middle of a discussion?" He asked with a slightly sarcastic tone.

"There's a beach through the woods... I come here sometimes when I need to think," I said after a moment of hesitation. "I'm sorry I stormed off. I was being immature and selfish. I'm just so sick of this repetitive act of not being able to do anything. I'm losing my freakin' mind."

"You're damn right it was immature and selfish. I know there's a lot happening right now, but you need to be a fucking man and stop acting like a princess," he said. I knew better than to expect him to tell me anything different, but his words still felt like ice.

"Yes, sir," I replied. I wondered if I should bring up Cas, but decided against it, thinking it would make him more aggravated. We sat there in silence before he said something I never expected.

"So, you spent a fair amount of time there 'thinking' or whatever. What exactly have you thought we will be doing about your... boyfr- um- Castiel," he said, awkwardly. He called Cas my boyfriend. Well, almost did- but still. I knew it didn't mean he was okay with Cas and me, but it still made my chest leap. What he said shocked me. He didn't say it the same way he had been speaking before. It sounded like he wanted to do something, but just felt incredibly uncomfortable with it. It took me a minute to process that he was attempting to help, and expecting an answer.

"Well, I had only been there for a little while until I found Cas there. His dad was, um," I cleared my throat, "his dad was working late and Cas made it out of his house for a while."

"Why didn't he come for help?" My dad asked, just like I had when I was talking to Cas.

"He said that... um, he said his dad would-" I paused again, clearing my throat, "He said his dad would kill him if he ever talked to me again." My dad didn't say anything, but I could see him grip the steering wheel tighter. If I looked close I could see him getting somewhat distressed, and it was not what I had been expecting, considering his attitude about everything before. Before, it just seemed like he cared, but didn't want to care. But then, he seemed like he was trying harder and he knew we had to do something. _Finally. _"What can we do?" I asked when my dad continued to stay silent.

"I'll have a word with Mr. Novak. We will do our best to make it so that Castiel won't get hurt again," he said as we were nearing the driveway to our house.

"Thank you," I said as we parked. It was a thank you for the ride, a thank you for not being a dick about me having a boyfriend, and it was a thank you for finally realizing that things needed to change ASAP. He nodded and we got out of the car and walked up to the door. Sam opened it before my hand reached the door knob and the guilt started to seep into my skin when I saw the worried look on his face.

"Hiya, Sammy," I said, innocently. He just gave me a cold solid look and turned away and back into the house. When my dad had gone into his bedroom, I went to talk with Sam and make sure he didn't totally hate me. He texted me a couple times after I left earlier but I either didn't notice them or ignored them, knowing I would be back soon. I really did feel bad. I hadn't talked to him much all weekend and he just got more and more worried. I just couldn't deal with worrying about him with everything else going on. When I walked into the living room, he was sitting on the ground with his homework splayed out on the coffee table.

"Uh, Sam?" I said. He looked up at me looking displeased. I thought to myself that he had finally given up on worrying about me, and then he was just pissed.

"Dean, you're an ass," he said.

"I know, I'm sorry. Look, I just didn't want you to worry."

"Worry? Have you even taken a split second to notice how worried I have already been?"

"Yeah... I guess you're right. I'm sorry, man."

"Are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on?"

"It's Cas. There's just a lot happening with him right now. But you don't have to worry about it, okay? It'll be fine."

"Whatever, Dean. I'm sure I'll find out what the deal is at one point before I die. Maybe." I felt bad, but chuckled under my breath.

"I'm gonna get some shut eye. You should too," I said, walking out of the room.

"Jerk," I heard him mumble.

"Bitch!" I yelled from the hallway, but just loud enough for him to hear.

I didn't sleep well that night. Knowing that my dad was going to try and help was good, and Sam being there for me was great, too. But I still couldn't help but think about the fact that Cas was all alone. I wasn't the one that needed a supportive brother and a helpful father, he was. I just lay there thinking about what could have been happening to Cas right that second, in that house with only him and his father. Well- I always assumed it was only him and his father. He never talked about siblings. Around an hour before I had to wake up for school, I fell into a light sleep, but my dreams consisted of blood and bruises. Just everything so _broken. _When I woke up shortly after, to my alarm buzzing and ringing obnoxiously, I hauled myself out of bed and into the shower. The steaming water felt wonderful, but I then realized how hungry I was. It made sense, I had barely eaten anything for days. I supposed that the fact of my dad trying to help was enough to organize my mind to a certain extent. Just enough to help me realize how human I was and how much I needed food to function. After I got out of the shower and changed, I packed my books and my uncompleted homework into my bag. When I walked into the kitchen, Sam was sitting at the table eating eggs with toast. I quickly scarfed down the eggs that he had left in the pan, and stole a piece of toast off of his plate.

"Dad's gonna take us to school today," I said, thinking I would speak to try and escape his glare.

"Okay. Where's the Impala?" He replied, going back to his breakfast.

"Broke down while I was out last night. It should be at Uncle Bobby's by now," I said, reflecting back on the night. He nodded, and then my dad walked into the room.

"You boys ready?" He asked, getting his keys. We nodded and I followed him out the door with Sam following after disposing of his dishes. The car ride to school was mostly silent and it ended with me informing my dad when to pick us up and a small wave from him as I got out of the car. After we dropped Sam off, he told me he would go to talk to Mr. Novak after work, but I just kept thinking what I was going to see when I saw Cas. What if his dad found figured out that we saw each other the night before? I continued to walk in the direction of his locker. I just needed to see him and know that he was alive and well. I wondered if he would talk to me again. I sort of assumed he would after seeing each other at the beach, but I wasn't sure. It was frustrating not knowing what was going on inside his head- again. When I rounded a corner, his locker came into sight and I could see Cas- but he wasn't alone. I could barely tell who was there through the crowd of people. It wasn't Jo or Benny. It wasn't Ash. Then I realized- _Uriel. _I ran towards his locker and the closer I got, the more clearly I could see. Cas was standing with his back against the locker, and Uriel was in front of him. I couldn't hear what he was saying yet, but the look on Cas' face said it all. He was trying not to look Uriel in the eyes as he went closer and closer toward him. It was happening fast, and I felt like it never took me quite that long to get there. When I ran up to them, I grabbed Uriel and violently threw him on the ground. I turned to Cas and I could see the fear. He was shaking and he had started to breathe frantically.

"Hey- hey, Cas. It's okay," I said as I gently placed a hand on his cheek and on his elbow. He nodded and his breathing slowed a small amount.

"Dean!" He choked out, and I turned around, only to be met with a fist crashing onto my eye socket. I stumbled, trying not to fall on Cas, and regained my balance. It wasn't a bad hit, but damn, there was never a time when I punch didn't hurt. I turned to Uriel and anger took over. How dare he? Cas was hurt, he was a mess, it was clear, and he still approached Cas like nothing. I wanted to retaliate. I wanted to make sure that he knew never to mess with Cas again, but I couldn't I had to regain at least some of my control. Cas at least needed that. Uriel came at me again and his fist slammed into my gut. I doubled over, but stood back up, knowing that I needed to be there.

"Okay! It's over! You win!" I heard Cas scream. Uriel laughed and all I did was take Cas hand and try to walk away. Far away. I didn't trust that Uriel wouldn't just chase after us, but we needed to stay away from him, or any sort of violent confrontation for that matter. Cas shouldn't have to deal with that. He couldn't. Uriel didn't follow us, but I knew it wasn't over. We would have to put up with him when we were at school, and we had to resolve everything else when we weren't. That was definitely not fair, but I disregarded those thoughts. I had no use for them at that moment.

"Are you okay?" I asked Cas as we went into an empty classroom, a weak attempt at getting away from everyone else.

"Yes. I'm alright. Are you? Oh my God, this is all my fault. I'm sorry, Dean," he said as he let go of my hand, covering his face with his.

"Cas, I'm fine, that was nothing. Don't you dare think that was your fault. Uriel was the one that did that, not you. I can't even imagine why you would think that," I said, confused at what he was thinking and why he would say that.

"All of this is my fault," he said as he clutched his hair. I stepped forward and removed his hands from his head before wrapping my arms around him. I was careful not to hurt him, but I was still holding him enough that he stopped shaking.

"No it's not," I whispered. I knew it wasn't much, but I was sick of trying so hard to get him to realize. That was all that I said, and I hoped that it was enough for him to at least calm down for a while. We had the rest of the day to go through, and then we would have to go deal with whatever came out of my dad's talk with Mr. Novak. _Shit. _I hadn't even told Cas about that. I pulled back from him and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"My dad's helping us. He wants to, and he is. He's going to talk to your dad today," I said in a hushed voice, not wanting to make Cas uncomfortable. His eyes widened and he froze.

"Dean, please tell me this isn't a joke."

"I swear. We're gonna figure this out," I said. Cas smiled and held the back of my neck, pulling me close and pressing our lips together. I could feel him about to cry, but I could tell that it wasn't from fear, or pain, or distress. But from relief, and comfort, and a human touch that was there to help, and soothe, and love. I supported him even more, pressing my hand on the small of his back and moving even closer. All of the sudden, the door to the classroom opened, and a very shocked and very spacey looking Mr. Brown walked in. Cas and I jumped apart and rushed passed him and out of the room as quickly as we could. He didn't even get a word in before we had briskly walked down the hall.

"Oops," I said as we got to my locker.

"Dean, what if he says something? What if my dad starts asking questions again and he tells him about that?" Cas asked, panic breaking in his voice.

"Hey! Didn't you hear me? My dad's gonna help us and it'll be fine. Just relax, would ya?" I said, leaning in as close as I could without it being too much. He nodded and took a deep breath. "Do you have your phone?"

"Yeah, why?"

"If Uriel does as much as give you a bad look, you call me."

"Dean, I'll be fine," Cas said, rolling his eyes slightly, but not rudely.

"Please," I begged. I needed to know that he would be alright, and if he wasn't, then he would call and I would be able to find him. He sighed and handed me his phone from his pocket.

"Here. My dad takes my phone constantly to make sure I haven't put your number back in after he deleted it. I had it written down somewhere, but he found that, too." I took his phone and added my number in with a different name. I tried not to think about how many bruises he had just from having my number in his cell phone, but the thoughts pulled at my mind. The bell finally rang and Cas and me parted ways. I almost wished Uriel would just come at me. I wanted to end it. With everything that Cas had gone through, he shouldn't of had to be afraid at his school. But I knew that nothing was that easy. I would have to put up with all of it until we figured something out.

The rest of the day went on without a call from Cas, but I did get a call from my dad. It was after fifth period, right before lunch, and I went to the library to pick up a few books.

"Hello?"

_"Dean, I'm sorry. I went to speak with Mr. Novak, but it didn't go well. He threatened to call the police if I didn't leave. He said I was accusing him of something absurd with no proof. Are you positive that he is the one that has been doing this to Castiel?"_

"Of course! Dad- please. There's no one else that would do this. Mr. Novak is lying!" I received a glare from the librarian as my voice raised more and more, but I didn't care.

_"Alright. Dean, calm down-"_

"How? This is so fucked up. Cas needs to get out of that house!" Silence. I had never spoken that way to my father. Sure, I would talk back, but never swearing, regardless of how foul his language was around Sam and me. He didn't say anything for a while.

_"I will pick you up after school, then we can discuss this further," _he said. Then he hung up before I could say another word. I tried to stop myself every time I felt the need to throw my phone across the room, knowing I needed it. But I could live without the books. I released the rage and frustration as my two chemistry textbooks flew across the room and crashed into a chair.

"Hey! You! Get out, or I'll have to call the principal," I heard from behind me. I didn't really acknowledge her, I was too caught up in what was happening. I just walked out of the room and went to lunch so I could see Cas. I knew that I needed to tell him the truth. I needed to tell him that he had to go home with his father again, and that I _still couldn't do a fucking thing. _All I wanted to do was run up to him and tell him that he never had to see his father again, and that every thing would be okay. I walked up to the lunch table he was sitting at, and sat down beside him.

"Hello, Dean," he greeted with a smile.

"Hey, babe... Um, listen," I paused. His smile quickly faded and he looked at me with furrowed brows.

"What is it?" He asked. I sighed, not wanting to tell him the same thing I had been for so long.

"My dad tried to talk to you dad, but it didn't work out. My dad questioned whether you were telling the truth, that it was your dad that did this, but I know it was, and we'll make sure he knows that, too. He just said that there's no proof. But he still wants to help, Cas, he really does." Cas turned away from me to face the table in front of him. His face looked blank. "Cas?"

"That's okay," he said. He sounded like he was being honest, and that scared the shit out of me.

"What?"

"Dean, that's how it's been. Nothing has changed, so it's not worth getting upset about."

"Cas... I'm so sorry."

"Don't say that. I'm fine. Plus, he wasn't even that bad yesterday," he mumbled the last part, and I knew he was lying. I looked at him with concern and he tried not to make eye contact with me.

"Why don't we hangout here after school? You can tell your dad you have to study or something and he won't know you're with me," I said. I wanted to at least try to get Cas away from his father as much as I could. He smiled a small smile and finally looked at me again.

"I shouldn't. He gets upset when I change plans last minute. It was usually okay, but these days- I don't know."

"Okay. That's okay, don't worry. I just wish I could spend more time with you instead of you having to be there all the time." I trailed off a little bit.

"I know. But there isn't-"

"Anything we can do. I know," I cut him off. He gave me a warm but painful smile, and that was the end of that lunch conversation as Jo and Ash came over to our table.

"Hey, guys," Jo said. Ash nodded at us, and they both sat down. I never really felt like being around my friends anymore. There was just too much going on, so I felt like I had no mental or physical energy to be social.

"Hey," both Cas and I said at the same time.

"So, Cas, how are you feeling?" Jo said. I forgot for a moment what she was talking about, but then I remembered the lie we told them when they saw Cas so beaten up. He said that he had gone dirt biking over the weekend and he took a bad fall. Yeah... we really needed to come up with better excuses.

"Oh. Yeah, I'm getting much better. Thank you," Cas said. Everything was so complicated when we were with friends. They had definitely noticed there was something wrong. Not the abuse, but they noticed I missed football practice. They also noticed Cas didn't run. He had talked before about how much he loved to run and how he was on the track team at his old school. He said that once the week started up then he would start running again, but he didn't, and they noticed, but were still totally in the dark. Cas glanced at me and I placed my hand on his knee, reassuringly. Jo and Ash seemed satisfied with the answer, and shortly after, Benny and a girl named Charlie came over. She was a friend of Benny's. We all ate our lunch with casual small talk and then we had to finish our classes for the day. I had my phone in my pocket, but still checked it every few minutes when the teachers weren't looking to make sure Cas hadn't called.

The rest of the day felt like I was swimming through tar. Every minute felt like an hour and I just had to get out of there. When the bell finally rang, I went to my locker to put my books away, then I went to Cas', but he wasn't there. I guessed he had already gone outside, so I walked out. I had to wait there for my dad anyway. When I walked out of the doors, I saw Cas sitting on a small stone wall waiting for his dad. I jogged over, even though I knew I couldn't stay.

"Hey," I said.

"Hello, Dean. Oh, shit- Dean my father is going to be here any second," he said, looking around.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay before I left," I said.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you," he said, looking at me.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"See you tomorrow, Dean." I lightly brushed his hand with mine before walking away to my dad's car that had been waiting at the curb. I got in and my dad was just staring. He was staring at Cas.

"Dad?" I asked.

"Castiel. His face," he said, softly- well, as soft as his voice got. I sighed and looked at Cas with him.

"I know. I told you," I said. I didn't mean to sound rude, but I _had _told him, and he wasn't helping me as much as he would have if he believed me before. Just then, the BMW pulled up and Cas didn't notice. He was reading a book that he had in his lap, and I wouldn't be surprised if he briefly thought he was in a different world. I wouldn't blame him if he wanted to be. The car waited longer, and my dad and me sat there, both thinking the same thing. I mentally shouted to him that his dad had pulled up, but before I knew it, Mr. Novak was getting out of his car. "Shit!" I said without thinking, and was about to get out of the car to stop him, but then my father stopped me right when I realized it would be a very bad idea. We watched as Mr. Novak stormed over and grabbed Cas by the shoulder to pull him up. I flinched as I watched Cas grind his teeth in pain. Mr. Novak threw him to the ground to pick up the book he had dropped, and I grabbed the handle of my car door. I couldn't take it. I couldn't watch what was happening. Just imagining how much worse his father treated him at home made my stomach tighten and my hands ball into fists. The door barely unlatched when my father grasped my shoulder.

"Dean! No. Stay here," he said. I was ready to ignore him, but then he got out of the car and stormed over to Cas and his father. I froze, just watching as my father did the unthinkable. He grabbed Mr. Novak's arm and violently spun him around so that they were standing face to face. Novak looked shocked and seemed to be getting more and more angry. I couldn't hear anything, but I could see them yelling. I wanted more than anything to get out of the car and race to the scene to make sure Cas was alright. He had crawled a few feet away, looking too scared to stand up. I wanted to go and hold him and make sure that dickhead didn't lay a finger on him ever again. I trusted that my dad could take care of Novak, but I still wanted nothing more than to beat the living shit out of him. I was so ready to get out of that car, but what would his father do to Cas after seeing me near him, or talking to him, or touching him in any way? He would kill him if we couldn't find a way to get Cas out of there, and how could I risk that? My mind was racing, but it froze when I saw Novak hit my dad square in the jaw. I saw blood spatter on the pavement, so he must have hit hard. At this point, everyone that hadn't left the school was surrounding them, and I saw some people take out their phones to call the police. My dad didn't hit back, he just yelled even more. Then, Novak hit again, and that was it. I got out of the car and went straight for Cas. I knew my dad could handle himself. If he felt the need to fight back, he would, and it wouldn't be pretty. But Cas needed to get the hell out if there. I ran around our dads and crouched down next to Cas, helping him stand. I didn't know what my dad was yelling, and I probably wouldn't of noticed if Novak started yelling at _me_, but I needed to get Cas away from them. I started to lead him away, and I was relived that neither of them noticed us leaving. They were both too caught up in fighting. I noticed that Novak kept moving closer to my dad, trying to intimidate, but my he would just push him back. Nobody could ever intimidate my dad. I never understood it, but it was just impossible. I carefully lead Cas into the school and towards the bathroom with my arm around his shoulder. I tried my best not to hurt him where I accidentally did before.

"Dean," he choked out. He was trembling and breathing short and unsteady breaths.

"Hey, you're okay. You're fine. I'm here," I said.

"Dean... he hit him," Cas stopped walking and looked at me. He was practically whispering, but I didn't think he was trying to. "I'm so sorry."

"Cas, it's not your fault, so stop saying that. He'll be fine. The police are on their way," I said as I held Cas closer to me.

"What?" He asked, suddenly.

"I saw some people calling. Cas they can help, really." He stood there for just a moment before slowly lowering himself down onto the ground. I sat with him in the middle of the hallway floor. He buried his face in my neck. I was surprised he held it together like that for that long. He had a disastrous experience at his last school, his mother just died, his father made it so he didn't feel safe in his own home, and then his father may have been getting arrested for it. His life had shattered into a million pieces and he was trying so hard to keep them all together. We sat there for minutes, I just held him in my arms. He clutched at my shirt, not wanting the contact to leave him. I heard the doors at the front of the school open, and my heart began to beat faster, terrified it was Novak, but I didn't move. I sat there, feeling Cas tense more and more as the footsteps got closer and closer. When they finally approached us, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder.

"Um, excuse me?" I heard a woman's voice. It was gentle and kind, unlike anything that had been in my life for a while. Cas pulled back from me and we both looked up. She was a small, but strong looking woman with her blonde hair tied back, and in a blue uniform with a gun and a badge. I didn't know if I felt relieved or upset at the sight of a cop finally coming to help. I looked at Cas and he began to stand up, but winced slightly when he put most of his weight on his wrist.

"Hang on, I gotcha," I said, helping him stand.

"Are you two Castiel Novak and Dean Winchester?" The woman asked, once we stood.

"Yes, ma'am," I said, "I'm Dean, this is Castiel."

"Alright. Why don't you boys come with me." Cas stayed silent and I nodded. We followed her down the hall, and I noticed Cas trying to hide his quivering hands. I held my hand out to him, not sure if he was alright with people seeing. He looked at my hand then at me. I guessed that his dad would still be outside, but he would already know by then that we were together for that short amount of time. He shook his head subtly, and it stung a little, but I understood. His eyes weren't bitter or disheartening, they were full of gratitude, but still pain and fear. When we walked outside, there was a police car and an ambulance. My dad was at the ambulance and Novak was talking to the other police officer. My dad looked worse. Novak must have hit him at least a couple times more, and all Novak had was a light bruise on his cheek. We were walking towards them when Cas' father noticed him and started storming over to us in a rage. I jumped in front of Cas and the police officer that had been walking with us stood in front of me.

"Sir!" She yelled as Novak reached us.

"That's my son! I have a right to take him home! Come on, Castiel," he yelled in anger.

"Sir, we still have quite a few questions before you leave," she said suggestively. He looked more mad than I had ever seen someone. He gave me a glare and I swore he was trying to murder me with his mind. Then he looked at Cas, and I didn't know how, but it was a million times worse. The look that he gave him was pure hatred. Cas was behind me so I couldn't see his response, but seeing the officer's heartbroken look on her face, I was guessing Cas was on the edge of melting under the glare of his father.

"Fine," he spat out, "but I have things that must be done, so you better finish quickly."

"Come with me," the officer said, taking his elbow and leading him away. She looked disgusted, like she knew exactly what was going on. Once they were far enough away, I spun around to Cas who looked like he hadn't breathed the whole time his father was talking to us.

"Breathe. We're fine, just relax," I said quietly.

"No, Dean. No, I can't," he gasped. He reached out his hand toward mine, just enough for our fingers to brush. I didn't know if he realized he was doing it, but I took his hand anyway.

"Cas, listen," I said, "You're not going back there." I didn't have much of an idea what was going to happen, but I knew that there was no way in hell that Cas could go back. I wasn't finished talking, but the other police officer walked over to us. He was tall with brown hair and looked like he was prepared for anything.

"Hi, I'm officer Ross. Do you mind if I ask you boys a few questions?" He asked. I was pretty confused why they had to ask so many questions over a fist fight, but I went along with it.

"No. Go ahead," I said, still holding Cas' hand tight. He was standing slightly behind me, with his shoulder pressed against the back of mine. "I'm Dean."

"Dean, did you see what happened between you father and Mr. Novak?"

"Yes, sir," I replied. I appreciated the respectful way he was speaking. I knew Cas and me were standing there very obvious, but it didn't seem to bother the officer at all. Maybe he hadn't noticed, but if he did, I wasn't used to that response from a grown man. The only reactions I had experienced were not easy.

"Alright, and who attacked who first?" He asked.

"Novak was pushing Cas- um- Castiel around, so my father went to stop him, and Novak hit him after some time of them yelling. He hit him a couple times, but I was in the school with Cas before anything else happened," I said. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know whether I should come right out and say that Cas was being abused by his father, or wait until we know that the police will believe us. The officer nodded and wrote something down in his notebook.

"And you are Castiel?" He asked, looking at Cas.

"Yes, sir," Cas said, weakly.

"Okay, and is what Dean said true? Your father was acting violently towards you, and then everything played out just like that?" The officer asked. Cas stared at the ground for a moment and I squeezed his hand for reassurance. He nodded and looked at the officer,

"Yes."

"Are you injured?" The officer continued. He must have suspected the bruises that covered Cas' face to be the aftermath of what happened.

"No, sir." Ross looked confused.

"Has you father ever acted violently towards you before?" Cas paused, and I looked at him. A tear was sliding down his cheek and I wiped it away gently, not pressing hard on the bruises. Cas nodded and the officer scribbled more in his notebook.

"Do I have to go back?" Cas asked, interrupting Ross's writing. He looked at Cas with sorrowful eyes.

"The woman who called today reported a disturbance at the school, and domestic violence. We have plenty of witnesses, but you're father is not cooperating. We are going to take him down to the station and try to work it out," he said. "Do you have somewhere that you can go?"

"Yes, he does," I interrupted. The officer nodded.

"Now, Dean, I'm afraid I will have to talk you friend Castiel alone," he said.

"Boyfriend," Cas corrected, to my surprise. I looked at him, and when he looked back, I gave him a small smile.

"Of course. My apologies," the officer continued, "I'm going to have to talk to your boyfriend alone for a few minutes." I nodded and turned to Cas, who looked scared, but a little more relaxed.

"You good?" I asked, quietly. He nodded and I let go of his hand after giving it a light kiss, and walking away. It didn't feel right to walk away from him right then. His father was so close, but he had a police officer with him, so I kept telling myself that he would be fine. I walked over to my dad who was sitting at the ambulance, wiping blood from his face.

"Dad," I said, getting his attention, "you alright?"

"I told you to stay in the car," he said, sternly. "But I'm glad you didn't." I was confused, but then understood what he was saying. We talked for a few minutes about everything that was happening, and then Cas walked over with Ross. Cas walked right over to me and grasped my hand again as I saw him take a breath of relief. I whispered to him to make sure he was alright, and he nodded.

"We're going to take Novak to the station and see what we can work out. Mr. Winchester, will it be alright if Castiel stays with you in the meantime?" Ross asked.

"Of course," my father answered. There were no charges against my dad, so we all left to get Sam. My dad called him before to tell him we would be late, but he still looked mad until he saw that Cas was in the car and my dad's face was broken. Especially when he saw Cas' bruises. We explained that Cas was coming over and we weren't sure how long, but that was all we said. I didn't want Cas to have to listen to the overall of what was happening after just having to go through it. Sam didn't ask many more questions, but I knew I would have to talk to him later. Cas was silent for most of the drive.

"Castiel, do you want me to stop by your house so you can pick up some of your things?" My dad asked. I forgot about that. Before, Cas was just borrowing my clothes so he didn't have to go back to his house, but he would be able to get things now.

"If you don't mind, that would be great. Thank you," Cas responded. When we got there, Cas and I went in so that he could pack his things. When we walked in, the house was cold and quiet. We walked up to Cas' room, and I observed the clean and bland house. There was hardly anything there except for furniture and maybe a painting on a wall in some places. We walked up the stairs and into Cas' room, which was at the very end of the hall. It was a little more interesting than the rest of the house. It was painted blue instead of white, and had a couple band posters on the wall.

"Um, I'll be ready in a minute," Cas said taking out a bag and reaching into his closet for some clothes. I walked over to a table that was next to his bed and looked at a photo in a frame. It was of two kids in the arms of a a young woman and a man. The man looked like Mr. Novak, but younger and one-hundred times happier. The woman was beautiful, with dark hair like Cas' and blue eyes. She looked so happy, and I knew that she was Cas' mother. One of the kids I could recognize as Cas. His wonderful blue eyes stood out in the whole photo, and his smile was the same. Although, the other child I didn't recognize. She had red hair that I didn't know where it came from, because both of their parents had dark hair. She was definitely older than Cas, by a few years at least. I smiled at the photo and put it down as Cas walked over.

"I used to love that photo," Cas said.

"You used to?" I asked, curious.

"It used to make me happy. It was a time when my mom was around more often. We were all so happy all of the time. Now, it just hurts to think back on that."

"I'm sorry," I said, placing my hand on his back. "Who is that?" I pointed to the young girl.

"Oh. That's my sister," he said, walking back to his bag to pick it up. "She's not around anymore. Moved out a while ago and haven't seen her since. Are you ready?" Cas said it all quickly, like he didn't want to discuss it any further, and I got the message. I nodded and we left the room. As I walked through the doorway, I noticed a small smear of blood on the door frame. I tried to ignore it and walked with Cas out to the car.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys! I'm so sorry I haven't updated, but I have had a ton of schoolwork to do and have been sick for days. This chapter isn't as long, so I apologize, but I really wanted to post something. I'm so sorry if it sucks(it totally does lol) but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Thank you so much for all of the views/favs/follows. They really do mean the world to me.**

**Again, pretty please point out errors you find! I'm writing so many different things right now and don't always have time to edit as much as I would like.**

**Hope you enjoy! Xoxxooxoxoxoxooxoxoox**

That night was full off anxiety and stress. It was amazing that Cas was out of his home, and we were all more relieved than we could express, but not all of our problems were solved. We got a call from the police later on and they said that Cas' father would be staying in a holding cell overnight. We weren't really sure what it meant, but all I knew was that Cas was safe, and I couldn't of been more thankful. When we got back to my house after stopping by Cas', we were all exhausted and we ordered takeout so we had time to finish homework. I was falling a little behind, and needed to finish my assignments regardless of everything going on. Cas was behind, too. After quickly finishing our Chinese food, we went to my room to work a little. We were both ready to pass out, but we thought we would at least try to work. We sat on the ground and were both working on our chemistry projects. I was looking in my bag and couldn't find my textbooks, when I remembered that they were probably still on the floor of the library.

"Hey, Cas. Do you mind if I use your books?" I asked.

"Sure. Where are yours?" he asked in curiosity. I was really hoping he wouldn't ask questions.

"Umm... slightly wrecked on the floor of the library," I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Dean, why are they there?"

"I had a moment, a very very brief moment, and I kind of threw my books across the room- but I didn't throw my phone so that's a plus," I smirked. "It was no big deal, everything's fine now," I said, nonchalantly. Cas looked at me with his head tilted and his eyes squinted. I loved when he did that.

"Dean-"

"Really, Cas. It's no big deal. Let's just get this done so we can get some sleep, okay?" Cas nodded reluctantly and we started working on our homework. I had some serious issues with the project, due to the fact that I had payed next to no attention in class, and I was surprised when Cas knew everything and was able to help me. Wasn't he the one that should have been distracted and lost with schoolwork? After an hour of working through homework, we decided to put it away and go to bed.

"No mattress?" Cas asked as we were packing away the books and papers we had been using.

"I mean- I just thought we'd be okay. Do you want it? I'll go get it," I said, starting to feel guilty as I thought that Cas was uncomfortable in my bed.

"No!" he said suddenly. "I'm fine. I just thought... I don't know. What about your dad?" he asked. I thought for a moment. I sort of forgot about my dad, but I considered how he had been acting, and decided that we really didn't need the mattress.

"Don't worry. He'll be fine," I said as I walked over to Cas. I kissed him on the forehead before going to brush my teeth. When I walked back into my room, Cas was about to put his t-shirt on, with his back turned to me. I stopped in my tracks as I saw his exposed skin. His sweatpants were hanging low on his hips and I looked over the dark and swollen bruises that covered more than half of his back and shoulders. Some were black and blue, when some were purple and yellow. They looked so painful, and there were even spots that his skin had split where the impact was.

"Cas-" I choked out. It was practically a gasp, and he spun around and tried to put his shirt on hurriedly, but hissed in pain. I already knew that he was hurt, and that it was really bad, but actually seeing it was just a whole different thing. I rushed over to him and stopped him from trying again to frantically put his shirt on. I looked closer at his skin, and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Dean, please," Cas said, acting as if nothing was wrong and slowly putting his shirt on. He pulled away from me and got his toothbrush before starting to walk to the bathroom. I stood there like a moron, not knowing what to say. But I knew what to do. After he left the room, I walked out to the kitchen and got a couple ice packs from the freezer. The sight of that darkness on Cas' back stuck in my mind as I walked back to my room. Cas came in shortly after, looking at me with confusion when he saw the cold packs in my hands.

"What are those?" he asked, as if he thought that he didn't need anything. I sighed and sat down on my bed, thinking that it was impossible to get Cas to accept the fact that I was there to help.

"You need to put ice on those," I said. "I know you think you're fine, but it will help." He paused, but then walked over and sat down right beside me. He leaned in and slowly kissed me on the cheek. His lips lingered, and I could feel his warm breath on my skin.

"Thank you, Dean," he whispered. I smiled a little and turned my head to give him a soft, but deep kiss. He smiled into it, and for a minute, everything was okay. No bruises, no blood, no jail, no school, no Uriel. Just comfort, and lips, and love. It was nearly overwhelming, with everything that had happened that day and everything that we still had to resolve, but it was still amazing to say the least. When we pulled away, we were both smiling and I pushed a lock of hair from Cas' forehead.

"Here," I said, motioning for Cas to come and sit back with me on my bed. I set an ice pack behind him and he cringed when it touched the sensitive wounds on his back. "Sorry, babe," I said quietly, trying my best to be careful. He sat back and sighed. I guessed that it felt good to have the cool and healing feeling on the damage covering his skin. It was so irritated and hot, just begging for relief.

"Do you want this one on you shoulder or wrist?" I asked.

"How do you know my wrist and shoulder hurt?" he asked, confused.

"Maybe I'm psychic," I said, getting a small smile from Cas. "So, where?"

"My shoulder would be best. It's not too bad, but it seems to cause problems," he said.

"Can I see?" I asked, not sure that Cas was comfortable with it. He didn't respond right away, but slowly nodded after a minute. He leaned forward and took off his shirt cautiously. The layer of clothe protecting Cas' skin from the cold was gone, and Cas gasped when the ice packs fell into place on his bare skin. I looked up at his shoulder and instantly felt a stab in my gut. There was a swollen and purple bruise that was in the shape of a hand print. I cringed, remembering when I touched his shoulder and the reaction he had. I wrapped his shirt around the ice pack and set it on his shoulder as gently as I could. The sight of Cas lying there was nearly painful. Without his shirt on, I could see more of the damage his father had done, and it made me aggravated and- once again- more frustrated than I could handle at that point.

"I'm so sorry, Cas," I practically whispered, my voice weak. He looked up at me with his soft and breathtaking blue eyes. I sounded so fucking stupid, but sometimes I swore that his eyes had stole the ocean on a clear day.

"I'm alright now, Dean. It's not as bad as it looks," he said.

"No. No, it doesn't matter. This never should have happened," I said, shaking my head. "You don't deserve any of this. You don't deserve this much pain." Cas didn't reply. There were minutes of silence, just sitting there and staring into each others eyes. Eventually I spoke up, craving more interaction with the gorgeous blue eyed boy.

"So, that was a comforting correction you made earlier. With the cop?" I said with a small smirk. Cas rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Well, he was mistaken and I thought it would be at least polite of me to see that he addresses us correctly," Cas said. His smile made some of the pain in my gut vanish.

"You were doing your civil duty," I said. We both laughed and I sat back, resting my head on my bed frame and shutting my eyes. I was content for a moment. I sighed and took his hand, loving the feeling of our fingers intertwined.

"Are you alright, Dean?" Cas asked after a moment of silence. I opened my eyes to look at him.

"I'm just so glad you're okay," I replied. He smiled and we lied there for a while before I got up to put the ice packs away and then get back into bed. I slid under the blankets and lay close to Cas, wrapping my arms around his waist gently. He sighed and tucked his head into my chest. I took in the heavenly smell of him. I wanted to always remember the smell of his hair and his skin. It was like springtime, when everything was fresh and bright, and just so full of life and color. I loved it. I loved _him._ The thought was startling, but not even a little surprising. I had never said that I loved him, but I felt like it was said all the time, just with the things we do and say and just being together. I wondered if he felt the same way and my immediate thought was that there was no way he did. We hadn't known each other for long at all, so why would he? Why did I? I thought back to when he referred to me as "people he love"- in so many words, but then I disregarded the thought and just focused on Cas in my arms. He seemed so comfortable, so happy, and it was like I was looking at a different person. The steady way he breathed in and out was hypnotizing and the small smile that lay on his lips were almost unbelievable. I almost forgot what it looked like when he was so content. Even when he looked put together, I could still see the pain and stress in his eyes. But right then, he just looked happy, and that's all I needed to sleep better than I had in days. The weight in my head just disappeared and I exhaled slowly, closing my eyes for the night.

The next morning, I woke up to a lack of warmth beside me. I opened my eyes and they stung for a second from the brightness coming in from the windows. I wondered what time it was, but let it go after remembering that we were going to be excused from school for the day. I saw a figure leaving my room and I recognized it as Cas. When I heard his voice outside, I got up and went to see who he was talking to. I guessed that it was just Sam, but Cas sounded nervous and distressed. I couldn't imagine why he would sound like that if he was talking to Sam, and Sam had school anyway. When I walked out of my room, Cas was standing in the hallway with his back firmly pressed against the hallway wall. He had his hand caught up in his hair and his cell phone to his ear. His eyes were tightly pressed shut and he looked panicked, but trying to calm down.

"Yes, I understand. Thank you," he said into the phone. His voice was shaky and unbalanced. He sounded so unsure, and I had no idea what was going on. I slowly walked over and put my hand on his shoulder, making him jump a little before looking at me and calming down. "Uhm- yes, yes. I'll be down by noon," he said. I moved closer and placed my hand behind his back to support him. He really did look scared, and I was so tired of seeing him so terrified all the time. It was painful for both of us and I couldn't stand it. He pressed his head against mine, seeming desperate for comfort. I was dying to know what the hell was going on, but all I was trying to do right then was be there for Cas. I felt like I was the only one that could. I didn't mind, I loved him and I loved being there for him, but there wasn't anyone there for me. I kept telling myself I was a selfish dick; wanting someone there for me when Cas was the one that needed it, but I thought about it sometimes, just wanting someone to talk to about everything. I had Cas, but I really didn't want to worry him with my feelings and shit. I thought about talking to Jo sometimes. She was the one I was closest with out of all of my friends. It was mostly because I had spent more time with her because she was my cousin. We didn't really consider ourselves cousins most of the time for some reason. Bobby and Ellen were her parents and we never thought about labels. Like _cousin _or _aunt _or whatever. We would address them as that sometimes to be clear, but the bottom line was that we all cared about each other and had a good time, so that was all that mattered. Cas spoke up again. "Thank you, sir," he said before hanging up the phone and taking a deep breath.

"What's up?" I asked quietly. He looked at me and I couldn't read is face. I couldn't tell if he was okay.

"They want me to go down to the station today. I guess my dad said some stuff that they want me to 'confirm' or something. I don't know," he said.

"Well, what kind of stuff? What did they say?" I asked, still calmly, but beginning to get too intrigued to hold back my excitement. Cas shook his head slightly.

"I don't know, Dean. I have to be there by noon," he said, "I guess we'll find out then." Cas looked stressed. No kind of stress was good, especially for Cas at that point, but I could also see he looked hopeful, too. It was something I hadn't seen too much of with him. He was plenty hopeful, but at that moment there was really a chance that things would work out. I reached my hand up to hold the back of his neck and lightly kissed him on the cheek. He breathed out, almost in relief.

"Let's get something to eat. Then we can get ready to head downtown, okay?" I said after we pulled apart, our faces still close enough to feel each others breath. He nodded and we walked out to the kitchen, greeted by my dad sitting at the table eating breakfast.

"G' morning," I said, heading across the kitchen to retrieve some cereal and milk. He nodded and continued reading the paper he had his hand. Then he looked up at Cas who had sat down across from him at the table.

"Have you heard from the station, Castiel?" he asked. I was a little surprised at how early my dad brought up the situation, even if Cas had gotten a call. I suppose he was never one for small talk. Cas seemed a little caught off guard, but recovered quickly.

"Yes. They just called, actually. They said that I had to go down and answer a few more questions regarding some things my father said," Cas said.

"Did they say what it was about?" my dad pushed.

"No, sir," Cas replied. My father looked satisfied enough with the answer, so I continued to make a couple bowls of cereal for Cas and me. "Thank you," Cas said shyly. My father looked up at him in confusion. "For what you did for me yesterday," Cas finished.

"Nothing to thank me for, son," my dad replied. That was probably the best reply we could have expected. He looked back at his newspaper, and that was the end of that. We all ate our breakfast in silence. Even later on, the house seemed overtaken with exhaustion and thoughtfulness. The silence was nice, but I had grown to not appreciate too much. Recently, silence meant uncertainty and fear so much of the time. Cas and I got dressed and watched a little bit of TV before heading down to the police station. When we got into my dad's car, I noticed Cas starting to breathe quicker.

"Hey, hey. Relax. We'll be fine, just don't worry," I said, reaching my hand out and rubbing small circles into his forearm. He looked at me with soft eyes and I could see him trying to breathe slower, but not fully succeeding. I figured the best way to help him relax was to get through whatever shit was waiting for us at the station. I removed my hand to start the car, only to put it back into Cas' hand. He grasped it tightly and we drove to the police station that was nearly twenty minutes away.

When we pulled into the small parking lot, I parked the car and turned it off. I turned to Cas who was just staring out the window, not moving a muscle.

"Ready?" I asked. He looked at me and nodded. I gave him a small smile and we got out of the car and headed towards the building. I held Cas' hand so tight and he was holding mine just as tight. We didn't say much, but it was almost like we knew what each other were thinking. We both knew that anything could happen and that there was a good chance that Mr. Novak would have a 'get out of jail free' card. We walked though the front doors and walked up to the front desk to find out what we were supposed to do.

"Hi, Castiel was called down to answer some questions regarding his father. Novak," I said to the the woman sitting behind the desk. She greeted us with a smile, but it dropped almost instantly when she saw our hands intertwined. She gave us a dirty look and pointed to a few seats across the room.

"Officer Wallis will be with you soon," she said coldly. We walked over and sat down, slightly disappointed that we couldn't just get it over with as soon as we got there. I really hoped we would be finished soon, though. I had to pick Sam up from school and get my dad's car back to him and I didn't think I could last too long seeing Cas like that. He was just so tense and stressed out, like he was expecting the worst. Not to mention how uncomfortable it was to sit there with the bitter glances we got from the woman behind the desk. I tried my best to ignore her, and hoped Cas was, too. After about ten minutes, a tall male officer walked into the room.

"Castiel Novak?" he said, looking at us. We were the only ones there other than the bitchy secretary. We both stood up and I don't think Cas had ever held my hand tighter. For a second I couldn't feel my fingers, but it was okay. "Which one of you are Castiel?" he asked.

"That's me," Cas said. "Where's my father?"

"Your father spent the night in a holding cell. We didn't feel that he should be home with you quite yet," the officer said._ Yet? _Did that mean that Cas would have to go back with his father at eventually? No. That wasn't going to happen. I told the voice inside my head to shut up so we could just get on with it. "You answered some questions yesterday at the scene, but we have a few more," the officer continued. "Do you feel comfortable with that, Castiel?"

"Yes, sir," Cas responded. "Uhm- only if Dean can come." The police officer acknowledged that Cas was referring to me and looked skeptical, but eventually nodded and lead us down a short hallway toward a room that had a table with a few chairs around it. I kept expecting to see Mr. Novak and preparing myself for a scene, but I knew that we wouldn't be seeing him so soon- or at least I hoped so. After we sat down, Wallis went straight to business.

"Now, Dean, I should ask; how much involvement have you had in Castiel's- relationship- with his father?" he asked.

"I've known what was happening since the first time... I was the reason anything happened in the first place," I said, kind of mumbling towards the end.

"Dean-" Cas said, getting interrupted by Wallis.

"Hold on a moment. Why would you say that Dean?"

"Because it's true. His father wasn't supposed to find out about us, and when he did... Ya know," I trailed off.

"Dean, it wasn't you fault," Cas nearly shouted.

"Alright, alright. So when did the abuse start?" Wallis asked. I thought for a second. Not much time had passed, but it felt like forever.

"About a week or so ago," Cas said, calmed down. Officer Wallis asked more questions and scribbled down in a notebook. It felt like we were in that room for years. The questions were really hard, especially for Cas. Apparently there were multiple witnesses of his father acting aggressively to Cas at school the day before, and they all said the same thing; the truth. The officer also said that Cas' neighbors reported that they had heard yells coming from Cas' home, but ignored it until the police went to their door. That pissed me off. How could someone hear a kid scream and not do a damn thing? It made my fucking blood boil. Wallis said that when they spoke of all the evidence to Mr. Novak, he confesses to minor things. Nothing huge, just small things that will get him into less trouble. I had a feeling the cops saw right through him, and that's what kept me sane. They couldn't ignore the shape Cas was in. Even with Cas' sweatshirt on, you could still clearly see the damage his father had done. We answered lots of questions, and after about an hour, we left the small room that I had started to hate.

"Now, Castiel, do you have any other family you can stay with? If things go the way we plan, you're going to need somewhere permanent to stay," Officer Wallis said before we left the room. I didn't like the idea of Cas leaving me. I knew he'd be fine if he wasn't with his father, but I still didn't like the feeling of him not being with me and not being able to protect him in whatever way that I could.

"No, sir. Just a sister, but I haven't spoken to her in years... I don't know where she is," Cas said. I could tell he didn't like talking about his sister, and I almost wanted to stop Wallis from asking more questions about her, even though I was more curious than ever.

"Okay. We'll be in touch. Thank you for coming in, boys," Wallis said, to my relief. We walked out of the station after shaking hands with him, and both collapsed into the seats of the car.

"I think it went okay," I said as we sat in the parking lot. "Ignoring the fact that I didn't breathe the whole time." Cas chuckled and turned to me.

"Do you think they will try to find my sister?" he asked.

"I don't know. What do _you _want?"

"It doesn't matter. They're going to do what they think is best for me."

"Come on, man, humor me."

"Whatever is most convenient, I suppose," Cas said, breaking eye contact. I dropped the subject, not wanting to push too much. Cas had had enough questions asked of him for one day. We went to pick up Sam and drove back to the house where we were met by my father waiting impatiently for his car. I couldn't wait to get my baby back.

"How'd it go?" my dad asked as I handed him the keys.

"I don't know. Good, I guess. They said they'd call," I said. He nodded and pat me on the shoulder before leaving to go to work. I wasn't sure what Cas and me should do for the rest of the day. I thought that maybe it would be a good idea to go out and get Cas away from everything for a while, but I wasn't sure. Sitting through all of those questions may have worn him out already. I followed him towards my room and he collapsed on my bed face down as soon as we walked in.

"Tired?" I asked, smiling and sitting down beside him.

"A little," he said, looking at me sleepily. I leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.

"We could go get lunch in town if you want," I said. "Or we could nap."

"No, lunch sounds perfect," Cas said, laughing a little.

"Awesome," I whispered into Cas' neck, softly kissing up to his jawline and back down his neck, making him shiver under the touch.

About an hour later, we left my room to go and get some lunch. When we were walking through the kitchen, we ran into Sam and I tried my best to casually cover up the mark Cas had made on my collarbone, but of course he totally caught it laughed at me. I could tell Cas laughing under his breath as well and I couldn't help but smile, forgetting that I was supposed to be embarrassed. I told Sam that we were going into town and that we would be back later, then started walking.

"So where do you wanna eat?" I asked, swinging our intertwined hands as we walked down the road. It was really nice out, and I loved the sight of Cas under the gentle sunlight.

"Hm... pizza," Cas replied after a moments thought.

"Sounds good." We walked all the way to the pizza place without saying a word about his father or anything even remotely related to the events of the past week. We just had fun and forgot everything. After we had lunch we stopped in a record store called _John's Albums. _It was my favorite store and where I got most of my posters and t-shirts, so I thought it was about time I brought Cas there. We walked into the store and were greeted by The Ramones blasting though the speakers in the back of the store. Dozens of posters covered the walls and I could already tell Cas loved it.

"This is amazing," he said in awe.

"You didn't have record stores in Iowa?" I asked, smirking.

"We had stores that might of sold records, but not record stores like this."

"I'm glad you like it," I said before I kissed him on the cheek and walked towards The Clash section. We looked around the store for a while, and finally decided on our purchases. I got a London Calling album and Cas got a Sex Pistols t-shirt.

"So, do you think we can go to school tomorrow?" Cas asked after we left the store. I looked at him with slightly furrowed brows and he laughed. "We don't want to miss too much or else we'll have a ton to catch up on. Plus, I kind of want to go running on the track after school." I understood. It would probably be good to go back to school. It might help get Cas' mind off of things, just as long as Uriel stays the fuck away.

"Yeah, yeah, that sounds good. I wouldn't go so easy normally, but I think it'd be a good idea," I said truthfully. Cas smiled and took my hand. " So what do you wanna do now?"

"I don't know. Home, I guess?" he said. He didn't really look like he wanted to go home. He was so happy while we were out and having fun, and I didn't want him to lose that by going back to potential chaos so soon.

"We can if you feel like, but I was thinking we could get ice cream and laugh at the weirdos in the park on Elm St." I suggested.

"The 'weirdos'?" Cas asked.

"Yeah! Have you never been there? The weirdest people hangout there, it's awesome."

"Won't _we _be hanging out there, Dean?" Cas teased.

"Since when are we not weird?" I said, making Cas laugh. "In a good way."

"Okay. That sounds fun," he said, smiling at me. We walked down the road and went to sit in the park after getting ice cream from the truck on the curb.

"People can't be that weird here," Cas said as we sat down against a huge tree.

"Oh, just wait. I don't know what it is, but it's like this is the meet-up place for people that are totally whacked," I said. We sat there for a few minutes talking before people started walking by us. There was an old woman dressed as a princess with a cat in her purse, there was a man that had drawn whiskers on his face and was carrying a life sized stuffed tiger, and there was a teenage girl with seven dogs on a leash and a squirrel on her shoulder. That was only the first few, and Cas and me sat there laughing at- but admiring- all of the insane people who were just being themselves and having fun. When it started to get late, we decided to walk back home because we still had some work to get done before school the next day. It was such a relief to have had a day that we could just be happy and forget about everything. We could just be a regular couple going into to town for a relaxing day. I should have known it wouldn't last forever, though. We were walking down the road and were almost to my house. I had my arm around Cas' waist and we heard blaring music coming from a car flying down the road. We looked over as they passed, and were met with at least ten balloons filled with ice cold water bursting from the impact on our skin. We heard yelling and laughter from the car as they sped away, leaving us on the side of the road with our clothes completely soaked. I considered yelling and racing after them, but remembered that that doesn't usually do any good.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed.

"Who was that?" Cas asked, seeming to be more calm than I was, but still looked freaked out.

"I didn't see them. But I've got a pretty good guess," I said, with the assumption that it was Uriel and his goons. I couldn't think of anyone else that would do something like that to us. They were the only ones at school that ever showed to have a big enough problem with us that they got violent.

"Uriel," Cas realized. "Why can't they just leave us alone?"

"They will," I said. I wasn't even sure that they would, but it would have to stop one way or another. "C' mon, let's get home and clean up." Cas nodded and we walked the short distance we had left to walk. It was pretty warm out, but the freezing cold water had soaked through to my skin and I was starting to shiver. Cas' lips were turning a light blue color and he was shivering, too. When we finally got back to the house, we went straight to change our clothes.

"Hey! What the hell happened to you guys?" Sam yelled as we passed his bedroom door.

"Just some some douchebags with water balloons. No big deal, Sammy. We're gonna clean up then I can make us some dinner," I said nonchalantly.

"Are you guys okay?" he asked. I nodded and brushed everything off. I was trying so hard not to drag him in on all of the drama. I knew I couldn't do it forever, but I was hoping all of the drama wouldn't last forever. Cas and I changed into dry clothes and we started to make some dinner for all of us. My dad texted me and said he'd be working late, but we made some extra so he could have leftovers later on. Cas and I put together a potato casserole and made some salad to go with it. We put the casserole in the oven and set the timer for a half hour.

"What should we do while we wait?" Cas asked.

"How 'bout we ask Sam if he wants to play cards?" I said after a moments thought. Cas nodded and we played Uno with Sam for a while until dinner was ready. The night went on normally and it was just so perfect. Being with my brother, and my amazing boyfriend together like that. Apart from the police questioning, the day was just relaxing and refreshing. After dinner, Cas and I were doing the dishes and talking about the day and schoolwork that needed to be done. Things were good, and we were happy. Then, his phone rang. We both looked at each other and he slowly reached into his pocket. He looked confused and I was immediately concerned.

"Cas, who is it?" I asked quietly.

"Um, I don't know. It's not the police station and it's coming in as an unknown number," he said, sounding pretty worried. He pressed the button to answer the call and put the phone to his ear. "Hello, this is Castiel." After a second, Cas' face went completely white, and he looked almost sick. It was like he was looking into nowhere, and I though he was going to pass out. Then, he finally spoke. Words that I would have never expected. "_Anna?_"


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! I'm sorry this chapter is pretty short, but I have been crazy busy and wanted to post something. I'm pretty sure this chapter is worse than anything I've ever written, but I still hope you don't hate it. Thank you so much for following and sticking with the story, as I have not been very proud of my writing these days due to the shitload of other writing I have for class...**

**Pretty pretty please point out errors you see!**

**Thanks so much for reading, it means the world to me. Xoxxooxxooxoxxxooxo**

Did he just say _Anna? _Like, his sister, Anna? My heart was beating faster and faster as I looked at Cas. He was completely speechless, and I couldn't stand not being able to hear what was being said on the other end of the line. He continued to say nothing and I was wondering if there was anything being said on the other end.

"Cas," I whispered, in hope that he might snap out of it. He looked up at me with his mouth hanging open and I was impatiently waiting for a response.

"Uhm... I- I have to go," he clumsily said into the phone. Before anything else was spoken, he hung up and dropped his phone on the counter.

"Cas, what's wrong?" I asked, stepping closer to him. He didn't look necessarily upset, but shocked to say the least.

"It was Anna- she called me. She fucking called me," Cas said.

"What did she say?" I asked, concerned of Cas' reaction to his sister's communication. It felt like everything was moving suddenly. Cas looked like he didn't know how to form the right words, and I didn't blame him. After so long of not talking, his sister just called him as soon as she was contacted about their father? Did the police station get in touch with her already? I was so confused, so I just tried my best to focus on Cas.

"I- I wasn't expecting for the police to find her so soon, but they did. She was calling to say that she was flying out here as soon as she can to sort things out and make sure I'm alright," he said.

"Holy crap," I mumbled without realizing. I didn't know what it meant for her to be flying out to- well, I had no idea what she was going to do. Was Cas really going to live with his sister? His sister that he hadn't seen in years and barely knew at that point?

"Dean," Cas whimpered. "I don't understand what exactly is happening. I didn't think she would _actually_\- what the fuck..."

"I know. But we can't do anything about it tonight, so let's just take a breath, okay?" I said. It wasn't exactly what I was thinking. All I wanted to do was find out what the hell was going to happen and try to make it work, but I knew that we needed to rest. Cas nodded and we headed towards my room, planning on finishing the dishes the next morning. We got ready to go to bed and heavily landed on the sheets and blankets that welcomed us. It seemed like we couldn't really catch a break for very long. Even a day that started out bad we made pretty good, but then it had to end with more fucking complications. We turned out the light and right away my mind started to race. I wish I could just stop thinking so much about everything. "Cas?" I whispered, hoping he hadn't already fallen asleep. He rolled over to face me and it looked like he hadn't even attempted to rest.

"Yes?" he said curiously. I thought for a moment about my choice of words. I didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable just because I was being nosy.

"Look, I don't wanna push, really. But would you want to live with your sister?" I could see Cas gulp, breaking eye contact to stare at the hem of my shirt. "I'm sorry- never mind, okay?" I said after a minute, regretting the question. It was so obvious that he could barely stand thinking about his sister, and there I was, bringing her up after all that just happened.

"It's fine, Dean. It's really no big deal, I just don't like reliving so much of my past," he said. "It was awful when Anna moved out. Everything went to shit for a long time before things got back to normal, but even then, there was still tension."

"What happened?" I asked cautiously.

"A lot. But basically, I got her kicked out. She had a stupid party one night when my parents were away and I told my dad. I was kind of that nerdy kid that never knew anything but what daddy wanted, so I barely even realized that I shouldn't have. I guess there was alcohol involved and she was supposed to be in charge of me. She blamed me for a while after she left. She ignored all of my emails and when I called, she would just yell at me until I finally hung up. Eventually we just stopped talking altogether. Last I heard she wasn't doing very well on her own."

"I'm sorry, Cas," I said sincerely. "Were you guys close?"

"Yeah... yeah we were. She was always there when I needed someone to talk to. She was just so kind, then all of the sudden she hated me. All because I was being stupid."

"Cas it's not your fault. She had no reason to hate you. She chose to lie and have a stupid party, so she shouldn't blame you. But she can't still be mad, can she?"

"She sounded calm on the phone, but I didn't exactly let the conversation go on for long."

"How about we give her a call tomorrow and see what she's thinking and why she's coming all the way out here?" I asked, knowing it was late and we had a lot to do the next day. I loved talking to Cas like that, but it was about time we just took a break and went to sleep. I felt like I could actually sleep then; Cas had shared with me what I thought he was trying so hard to keep from me.

"Okay," he sighed, "Goodnight, Dean." He moved closer and wrapped his arms around me, shutting his eyes burying his face in my chest.

"Night, Cas." I was pretty tempted to ask more questions, specifically why he didn't want to tell me about his falling out with his sister, but it was relaxing to just lay there with him. I finally shut my eyes and focused on being in his arms.

I was startled awake by loud banging on my bedroom door. I sat up and Cas did the same as I stumbled toward the obnoxious noise. I glanced at the clock on the way and it read 11:58am. _Shit. _I swiftly opened the door and my dad looked more than annoyed- standing there with his fist lingering in the air, still in the motion of knocking on my door.

"Dean, good, you're up. I got a call from Cas' sister, Anna. She said that she would be here at one o' clock to meet with us," my father said.

"Fuck," I heard Cas mumble from behind me as he checked his phone and saw the missed calls. I was not even close to prepared, but I pulled it together, knowing I needed to meet Anna eventually.

"Okay. Thanks, dad, we'll be ready," I assured him. He nodded and walked away. I shut the door and turned around to face Cas, who was scrolling through his phone with frantic eyes.

"Anna called me eight times. How could we have even slept through that?" he said.

"We're fine. It's only like twelve, we have time. I just wasn't expecting her to actually show up _today._ She must of gotten on the soonest flight she could find to get here this quick," I said, thinking more about it.

"This makes no sense," Cas said nervously.

"It will. It's just happening fast. Plus, she can't really feel the same way she did so long ago- I mean- she flew in as soon as she heard you were in trouble."

"She's probably just coming quickly so she can get on my dad's good side," Cas said as if there was no other answer.

"C'mon, let's get changed and have some food. You don't know what will happen; she could be a billionaire and she has full intention for you both to buy a mansion here. You'll have gourmet meals and horses and charming princes asking for your hand in marriage," I said, trying to get a laugh out of him. He chuckled and smiled that smile when his face would go from upset to full of life. I really didn't say anything funny, but I could tell he just needed something there to get his spirits a little higher. That little smile was what got me through the day. I walked over and sat down next to him. He was just sitting with his legs off the side of my bed and I placed my hand on one of them. "But I doubt they'll be more charming than yours truly," I whispered cockily and kissed him on the cheek before kissing him more deeply on his lips. He was smiling into the kiss and when we pulled apart his eyes were sparkling and I felt like I couldn't wait til' Anna got there. She could bring whatever and I knew we would be fine. "Okay we really need to get ready now."

Thirty minutes later, Cas and I were both showered and changed and headed to the kitchen for some breakfast(regardless of the fact that it was twelve-thirty). We were both really nervous, but it was better. We both knew that there was no way we would let anything else go wrong, so it was almost like we were assured by our own confidence. Sam was at school, and my dad was in his office working. I guessed he would be working from home all day because of things we'd need from him. With Anna coming in, things could go in a million directions. We ate breakfast without much talk of Cas' sister arriving, and when we finished and I started to do the dishes, it was almost one o' clock. I started to get more anxious, but it seemed to melt away when Cas came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, placing a kiss on my neck.

"You're distracting me from my work," I said, smiling. I felt a small laugh in Cas' chest, but he kept his face in my neck.

"AaHEM," I heard my father from behind us. Cas jumped off and I dropped the pan I was washing in the sink. When I turned around, I was surprised so see an amused look on my dad's face. I laughed under my breath at my failure, noticing the water that had splashed on the counter. "Just wanted to see if your sister had arrived yet, Castiel," he said. As if on cue, the doorbell rang and I saw Cas jump out of the corner of my eye. I looked at him with the most supportive eyes that I could, and walked over to the door with Cas on my heels. I saw him reach his hand out for mine, but then immediately pull back after realizing the situation. I hesitated when I got to the door, but then opened it. At the doorstep was a beautiful woman with stunning red hair, just like in the picture at Cas' house. She had blue eyes like Cas', but not as vibrant. They were more grayish and subtle. She smiled at me, but when she saw Cas, she looked completely speechless. When I turned to face him, I saw that he looked the same way.

"Uhm... come in," I said, awkwardly breaking the stare between the siblings. She looked back at me and smiled warmly.

"Thank you," she said, walking in. We went into the living room and all sat down. Cas made sure to sit beside me on the couch, Anna sat in a chair facing us, and my father sat in a chair across from us. The tension was so thick, I felt like the room was a thousand degrees. "It's so good to see you, Castiel," she said to Cas, who looked incredibly uncomfortable. He nodded and didn't say anything.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Anna. I'm John and this is my son, Dean," my father said. I was a little disappointed that I didn't say anything right away, but I was distracted with Cas and why he wasn't saying a word.

"It's nice to meet you, Dean. The officers that called me from the station in town and mentioned how wonderful you guys have been for Castiel. Thank you so much," she said. She seemed sincere and I got the feeling she might be good for Cas. It didn't seem like she was angry at all.

"So, why are you here?" Cas asked bluntly, before anyone else could say anything. Anna snapped her attention to Cas and I noticed guilt in her features.

"Well, I got a call from the police and they said that dad was in jail. They said I was the only other guardian listed for you. There was no choice, and I'm glad. You need to be as far away from him as possible," she said.

"What did they tell you, exactly?" Cas asked.

"They told me that dad is going to be locked up for a time after what he did," she said. It sounded like it was almost painful for her.

"Does that mean it's official?" I finally spoke. "He won't be around anymore?" Anna smiled a small smile.

"Yes. And as long as my father signs some papers, Castiel can come and live with me in Illinois." My heart stopped and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I had considered the possibility of Cas having to leave, but I always just assumed we could figure something out so he could stay.

"No!" Cas yelled before I could even process her words and respond appropriately. Anna looked shocked. "I can't leave."

"Castiel, my life is in Illinois, and you have no other legal guardians."

"_My _life is here. I can't- I can't leave, Anna." Cas's voice had begun to shake. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do.

"You can't make him go. Please," I said weakly.

"I really don't think there's much of a choice. I'm sorry, but I can't just move away from my whole life. I have a job, an apartment. You have to understand," she said.

"_You _have to understand, too!" I said. I could see her point, but I couldn't imagine if Cas had to leave. There was no way that could happen; after everything we had been through.

"Okay, that's enough," my dad finally interjected. I realized he hadn't said much, but I supposed he was mainly there for issues like that. "Look, you both clearly have lives that are hard to change, but they're going to have to. There is no doubt that the changes will be drastic, but just listen and talk like real people, alright?"

"Yes, sir," Cas said.

"My apologies, Mr. Winchester," Anna said. "Listen, Castiel. I work from home often, so maybe I can figure something out. I can't make any promises, but I will take some things into consideration."

"Please. I just- I just can't leave... not now. Not after everything," Cas said. I moved closer to him and took his hand, not giving a fuck of what my dad wanted. He seemed to really be warming up to the idea anyway. Cas took a breath and squeezed my hand. "Thank you, Anna," he said quietly. I looked at her and nodded, thanking her for trying to understand. I supposed we could have tried to understand her situation, but Cas had been through so much, and making him move away was one of the last things we would want.

"Anna, I understand that you have a lot to work out, but do you know if Castiel will be staying here until then?" my father asked. My thoughts turned around and I wondered if he actually had finally had it with my _boy_friend living with us.

"Only if this is what's best for all of you. You have done so much already, I don't think either of us would like to inconvenience you in any way," Anna said, motioning to Cas.

"Yes, Anna's right. If you want me out, I'll find another place," Cas said, his voice quickening.

"No! Cas, geez, you're not an inconvenience," I said.

"Castiel is welcome to stay for as long as he needs to. No problem at all," dad said. He sounded like he meant it, and boy, was that was a relief. Both Cas and Anna smiled.

"Thank you, sir," Cas said.

We discussed different things for a little while, and Anna left after we decided that she would think things through and keep in contact with us in the meantime. I wished she would just realize how awful it would be for Cas if he had to suddenly move. With everything that had happened, he at least deserved to stay where he was and be happy and safe.

The rest of the day was fairly relaxing, and Cas and I were sitting on the couch watching a Dr. Sexy. I wasn't paying much attention, though. I was wondering what Cas was thinking. I mean, he was probably thinking if Dr. Sexy was going to be able to save the orphan on the operating table, but I wanted to know what he was really thinking.

"Hey, Cas?" I said.

"Mmm?" he murmured.

"What was it like seeing your sister? She didn't seem like she was still upset or anything."

"It was weird," he said, sitting up to face me. "She looks so different; like an adult. And I was sure she would still have something against me for getting her kicked out all those years ago, but it seemed like she was really _actually _glad to see me." I smiled with him and was more than glad to hear what he was saying.

"So what would you think about living with her?"

"I don't know. I think anything would be better than my previous situation..." he trailed off and stared blankly. As if he was suddenly swallowed by thoughts and memories. "Dean, what if she decides she can't leave her life in Illinois? I mean- I wouldn't blame her."

"We'll figure something out. There's no telling what she's gonna say, so we just have to wait until she calls, okay?" Cas nodded and lied back, resting his head on my shoulder. I really wasn't sure what I was supposed to think, so I didn't. I just watched TV with Cas; not thinking. I hoped he was taking a break from thinking, too. It was pretty nice to just clear my mind and focus on having him at my side. I didn't know how many more moments like that I was going to get.

When Sam got home that day, I actually filled him in on more than usual. I realized there would be even more changes to come, and he deserved some more details about what was going on. He seemed really supportive, and it was nice to have him in on everything- well, mostly everything. I left out the details of what happened to Cas. I could barely say the words because whenever I thought about it my stomach churned. I really didn't want Sam to have similar feelings. He hung out with Cas and me for the rest of the day and we had a pretty good time. I had a hope in the back of my mind that Anna would call that day, but knew she probably wouldn't. She was just there and she had to make a really big decision. But I got more worried when she didn't call for four days after we met. Cas and I had gone back to school, but everyday was stressful, not knowing when we might get a call. We tried to act as normal as possible, but it was almost impossible to avoid the topic of what happened that day. We kind of got back into a normal routine, but there was a constant weight on us every day that Anna didn't call us with an answer to where Cas was going to_ live. _It angered me more and more as the days passed.

After over a week passed, the constant anticipation had proved to be exhausting. I was on the edge of calling Anna myself, but I knew that would be inappropriate; she was in the process of making a life changing decision. But Cas was getting more and more anxious everyday and I thought we would have no choice. We were out with Jo and Benny at the local pizza place, just trying to have some fun. We really did have a good time, but the thought of what Anna was going to say when she called was pulling at the back of my mind. We were all sitting at a round table and Cas was across from me. He looked as though he was enjoying himself while talking to Jo about some book, but now and then he would glance over at me as if he wanted something. Benny was talking to me through mouthfuls of pepperoni pizza about what the coach made the football team do during practice, and how "bitchy" she was, but my mind was in a different place. I tried my best to pay attention to my friend, but just as I was getting into the conversation, Cas' phone rang.

**_Author's note: So I just realized that the last chapter ended with a mysterious phone call, too. Oopsy._**


	7. Chapter 7

**HEY GUYS. I am so so so so so sorry for not updating. I'm on this cross country road trip with my family and my dad told me there would be wifi in the cabin... there is definitely NOT. I absolutely hate taking this long to update and I wish I could express how sorry I am. It's gonna be hard to write for the next couple weeks but I'm trying. I really really hope you enjoy this!**

**Thank you for the follows/favs/and REVIEWS3 xoxoxoxoxoxooxo**

Cas stood up abruptly and knocked the table a bit, startling Jo. He clumsily excused himself and walked away from the table and out the door. I stood up quickly and followed him, leaving Jo and Benny behind us, probably utterly confused at what the hell was the big deal. We hadn't shared that much with them. I mean, they knew some, but not enough for them to know exactly why we got so freaked by one random phone call. I would apologize to them later for running out without explanation. I walked out of the door and Cas was standing right outside with the phone still in his hand ringing as he stared.

"Cas! Is it her? Answer it!" I said. Why the hell was he just looking at it.

"I can't- I just can't," he said and shoved the phone toward me. I hesitated, but took it after a moment. We needed to know what her answer was; it didn't matter who she spoke to on the phone. I answered the phone and put it up to my ear.

"Hello, this is Dean," I said.

_Dean. This is Anna, is Castiel there?_

"No, he can't talk right now."

_Oh... should I call back?_

"No, no, I can speak to him about it after." My heart was beating up into my head and I was surprised I could hear what Anna was saying. I wanted to get to the point. The longer I listened to her, the more stressed Cas looked. He was looking at me with furrowed brows and began to pace a little. When I got off the phone a few minutes later, I hung up the phone and looked at him with a straight face.

"Dean... wha-"

"You can stay," I cut him off, letting a huge smile break through. Cas froze.

"Are you serious? Please tell me you're serious because this is not the time to joke, Dean."

"Cas! You can stay! She's coming _here_!" I yelled. Cas jumped into my arms and I felt like I was going to cry. I mean- I wouldn't. Obviously. There was no way. Anyone who said they saw a tear was a lying bastard.

"This is unbelievable," Cas murmured into my neck. He pulled back a little and crashed his lips onto mine. It was pure excitement and joy, and I had no protest.

"Would you two get a fucking room?" we heard, and pulled apart to look. Charlie was standing at the curb smiling like an idiot. I felt the blush creep up on my neck, but it vanished when I realized I had nothing to be embarrassed about. Cas, the most amazing guy I had ever been lucky enough to know, wasn't moving away, and I'd say that was something to celebrate. "So? What's all the excitement about?" she asked when Cas and I failed to say anything.

"We just found out that Cas can stay. He doesn't have to move away," I said, trying to contain myself. I probably hadn't been that happy since Cas and me went on that date in the park. I was so thrilled that I could barely hear what exactly Charlie was saying back to us. There was definitely some excitement, some squealing, and some aggressive hugging to end with.

"Have you told the others?" she asked once she calmed down. I almost forgot. We needed to tell friends and my dad. And Sam would be ecstatic.

"No, we're about to go in and tell Benny and Jo. We'll meet you in there," Cas said. She nodded and hugged us again before rushing inside. We held on to the silence and looked at each other; grinning.

"I can't believe this," Cas said as he stepped closer to me. I took his hand and squeezed it. I couldn't seem to get that smile off my face. "What else did she say? Like- when is she moving here? And where? Maybe...near your house...?" he smirked.

"She didn't say many details, but I know that you don't have to go far. Apparently it took her a long time to convince her boyfriend to move. I can understand why, but that was a long time for us to be on the edge of our seat," I said honestly. It was really tiring to always be glancing over at the phone, or always feeling tethered to it as if it held the answer to life or something. I guess it was, in a way. If Cas were to leave, I don't know what my life would become. Definitely some version of hell. "She said she found a two bedroom apartment that she's hoping to be moved into in a month or two. But she didn't say where it is. It can't be too far, though."

"I can't even process all of this. I can't believe everything is- working. It's like I'm in some shitty high school movie that has an all-too-happy ending," Cas said.

"Is that bad?"

"Hell no. I've always wanted to be part of those happy endings." I smiled and kissed him on the forehead before we walked inside to meet our slightly bewildered friends.

The time we had at the pizza place was a blast. Everyone was so happy. I couldn't wait to tell Sam, so Cas finally urged me to call him. He was thrilled, and I asked to talk to my dad after. It seemed like my father tried not to show it, but he was relieved. I could tell. And it wasn't even a "oh thank god he'll be gone maybe my son won't be gay now" kind of relived. He cared about Cas, whether he would admit it or not. I never would have dared to imagine he would ever go as far as approving of my _boyfriend_, but he did. He more than approved. He saved Cas' life when he could have turned his head. He chose to let him live with us even though Cas and I were involved. He asked to see nothing of our relationship, but turned out barely caring when we touched each other. I was so fucking thankful and I didn't know how to repay him. I would probably be able to think of something, but the situation was so unusual. How could I have ever guessed that this would happen? I would find a way to thank him.

That day was just a blast of relief and joy. Everything was working out and it seemed like we would be alright. It was almost hard to believe after everything that had happened. It was like I knew what was happening and I knew everything would be okay, but I was still ready for things to fall apart again. I suppose I could have been grateful for that after we got back home and found _him_ there. Azazel Waters. Cas had only told me a little about him. He was the kid who was with Cas when things got bad in Iowa. Cas didn't really like talking about him, but I knew enough to know he wasn't as great of a guy as he seems. He was just outside the house when we got back from the pizza place. I didn't know who it was, but I knew it was no one that would make things easy after seeing Cas' face. We had pulled up behind his car where he was leaning against it.

"Cas... you okay? Who is that?" I asked slowly.

"Shit," he breathed out. "It's Azazel. What the fuck does he want?" Cas said as the shock turned to anger. He got out of the car and ran up to his ex before I could say anything.

"Cas! Dammit..." I mumbled before getting out of the car to follow him.

"What are you doing here?" he yelled after he got close enough to Azazel. He gave the douchiest smirk I had ever seen in reply.

"Wow, Cassie. You got feisty," he said. I hated the guy. Hated his fucking guts. And who says 'feisty'? Cas looked even more pissed. I wished I knew what happened between them. I knew their relationship ended badly and Cas got real hurt, but he never gave me details.

"Answer my question," Cas demanded.

"Okay, okay. I heard a rumor you're in trouble so I decided to come visit."

"You heard a _rumor_? A rumor in Iowa about me? Seriously Azazel... you called Anna didn't you? What the fuck do you want?" Azazel glanced over at me with a sort of death stare and then looked back at Cas. His eyes softened, but he still had a creepy look on his face.

"I miss you, Cassie," he whispered, but I could still hear it. Cas laughed a bit and started walking back towards me.

"Go home, Azazel. And don't come back," he said as he took my hand and practically dragged me inside. I felt so stupid. I didn't say a word the entire time, but part if me said that was probably a good thing. The last thing I needed was to get in another fight with someone. I didn't hear Azazel say anything back, but he definitely wasn't pleased. Cas went straight for our room. He was more mad than I was expecting him to be after such a small encounter with Azazel.

"I am so sorry, Dean," Cas said after we had made it into my room and shut the door. I was glad we didn't run into Sam on the way because he would be all over us with excitement.

"Cas, what was all that about?" I asked.

"I don't know. I thought- and hoped- I would never have to see him again. Why did he decide to show up all of the sudden?"

"Listen, I'm not defending the guy, he seems like a total asshole, but maybe he was worried. I mean, you've been through a lot and I wouldn't be surprised if he found out about everything somehow."

"It doesn't matter. He should never come back. He doesn't have the right."

"Cas, tell me if I'm pushing too much here, but what is it that happened between you two that made things so intense?" I asked. Cas sighed and sat down.

"That's a really long story, Dean. One that you probably don't want to hear."

"Yes, I do. Cas I gotta know what the dickhead did to you."

"I thought I loved him," he murmured after a moment. "I was with him secretly before I came out at school and it was great, but then I decided I wanted to come out. He was all for the idea, but when the bullying started, he started to change. He never wanted to see me at school and when we would hangout outside of school he would just yell get all weird. It was like he thought he deserved better or something. One day, I caught him behind the bleachers with some guy he met in detention. When I told him we were over, he yelled and shoved me, saying that I couldn't break up with him. I didn't understand why he was upset about it. He was the one with his tongue down another guys throat, but he was. When he realized that he couldn't get me back, he started to spread even more shit about me around school. Things got worse and worse, just because I wouldn't stay with him after he cheated on me." I was speechless. Part of me wanted to hold Cas, and part of me was hoping Azazel was still out there so I could go rip his fucking head off. "See, I said it wasn't worth telling. I'm sorry, Dean," Cas said.

"Cas, hey, don't apologize. Thank you for telling me," I said. "Now, would you mind if I went and murdered him slowly with a dull pizza cutter?" Cas laughed and I was relieved to hear it. I really didn't know what to say or do. I didn't know if I was even supposed to do anything. It had been a while since they had their breakup and Cas never seemed to get very upset about it before, so I just assumed that he had mostly healed. If Azazel came back around trying to get back into Cas' life, I would do whatever I could to get him as far away as possible, but I hoped that he listened to Cas and went home for good.

The rest of the day went by smoothly. I could tell Cas was still a bit tense from anger and aggravation after Azazel's visit, but it helped when we talked more with my father and brother about the move. Cas was so excited about it that he relaxed more and more throughout the evening. My dad made an awesome dinner and we had a great time. I didn't think it was a good idea to mention Azazel's visit to my dad. It really didn't involve him, so why would I? The thought came to my mind over and over throughout the afternoon, but I really didn't see why it would. There was no reason my father needed to know why Cas' ex-boyfriend visited him him for barely a minute. I guessed I just felt like he should know. He cared about Cas and had spent all that time protecting him, and when I saw Azazel, I couldn't help but feel like he was a threat. He just gave me the creeps and I didn't want Cas to have anything to do with him. The thought of them once being together made me want to throw up. To imagine him ever -_touching_\- Cas was something I wanted out of my mind forever. It was torture. The guy barely said anything, but he made me want to repeatedly hit him in face.

When nearly a week passed without Azazel showing back up, I was pretty sure we were done with him. It's not like I was stressing about it, but it was definitely on my mind. Cas seemed totally normal, too, so it was like it was forgotten. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I was overreacting. It really wasn't a big deal.

When the weekend came we went over to Cas' house to get some of the things he wouldn't need before he moved. I told him we didn't have to start packing already, he didn't even have that much stuff, but he insisted. He couldn't wait to get out those boxes and get all his stuff out of that house. He was clearly thrilled to get out once and for all. The bank would be taking it and he would never have to go back. My dad suggested the idea of Anna moving in to the house, but Anna couldn't afford it and I think everyone became somewhat aware that Cas needed to live elsewhere.

"So have you talked to Anna today?" I asked Cas as he was taking old books out from the back of his closet and stacking them in a box.

"Yeah she called this morning. She said she figured some stuff out and she hopes to be ready to move in a few weeks," he said.

"Awesome. I will say, the apartment might not be as suitable for you as Winchester Inn.," I said, getting an involuntary chuckle from Cas.

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine. I mean, the service is awful at that place. The bellboy isn't even that hot," he said after coming out from the closet. "His little brother is nice though. Cool kid."

"If the bellboy 'isn't even that hot' why'd ya sleep with him?" I teased while slowly making my way over to him.

"Boredom?" he said. We broke out into laughter and closed the gap I had made small. We were still laughing a bit and I pressed our foreheads together. "I love you, Dean," Cas said after we caught our breath.

"I love you, too, Cas." I wasn't expecting the word from either of us, but it just happened. It wasn't even a big deal. I thought maybe we just knew it, so saying the words were almost pointless. After a while we decided it was about time to get back to work. We packed up most of his books and extra clothes, and pretty much most of his room. I don't know why Azazel kept tugging at my mind, but he did, and eventually I couldn't help but say something. "Hey, Cas."

"Yes, darling?" he joked from across the room.

"Do you think Azazel will come back? Like, do you think he'll stay away like you said?" Cas kept labeling the boxes without replying, and for a moment I didn't think he heard me.

"He fucking better."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, guys! I am just so so SO freaking sorry I haven't updated. Holy crap. It's been forever. I've been super busy and have a million stupid excuses. You have no idea how much all of your reviews and follows etc. mean to me. I'm still really trying on this story and I'm not someone who would just abandon it. I really hope you stick with it til' the end, even though I suck at consistently updating... anyway, I really REALLY hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Thank you for reading and being simply amazing. xoxxoxoooxxo. 3 3 3**

The next week passed quickly with all the packing we were all doing with Cas. He had a decent amount of stuff in his attic that he wanted to pack up as well as the things from his room. Everything else in the house he wanted to leave behind. Everyone was so happy and all the thoughts and worries I had about Azazel had nearly vanished completely. That was, until one night. It was a Saturday and Cas and I had been busy all day and it was late. We were sitting in bed, talking and relaxing. We had just gotten home and were just hanging out for a while before we made dinner. We had been with Jo and Charlie earlier after they helped us finish the packing and we were talking about how Charlie said she was going out with some girl from another school. She said we were going to meet her soon and we "better not be the dorks like we usually are because she really likes her".

"DEAN," Cas yelled suddenly and jumped out of bed toward the window.

"What? What is it?" I asked and sat up farther.

"I thought I saw someone," he said. He looked freaked out.

"It's pretty dark out there, Cas. Are you sure it wasn't just a shadow?" I asked. I was starting to get nervous, but I didn't want Cas to get more shaken.

"No, no, there was someone out there... where did they go?" he looked so intent.

"Stay here, okay?" I said and made my way to the door.

"Dean, no, just stay. I think they're gone."

"Just stay here," I said and shut the door behind me. I made my way outside being especially thankful that my dad and brother weren't home. I opened the door and walked outside. I wouldn't of been surprised if no one was ever out there. People walk by with their dogs day and night and Cas could have just seen someone running by. I walked to the end of my driveway and heard something behind a bush. I looked and saw someone move.

"Hey!" I yelled. The mystery figure immediately took a run for it and I chased after them. I didn't see their face and they were just in black, so I had no idea who it could be and why the hell they were outside of my house looking into my bedroom window. I chased them for nearly five minutes before they jumped into a car and drove off and I realized they had won. But then I noticed something. The car they sped off in was the same car Azazel was driving when he came to harass Cas. It must have been a coincidence... but how could it be? That would be a damn creepy coincidence. It had to have been him. Then the thought dawned on me; what if he went back to the house. What if he knew Cas was in there alone and he went back to talk to him, or worse? I turned around and raced back to the house faster than I thought was possible. When I rounded a corner and my house came into sight, I saw his car parked in front. I picked up my pace somehow and burst through the door.

"CAS!" I screamed. I didn't know what I should have expected from Azazel. I didn't know what he was there for or what he was capable of.

"DEAN!" I heard him yell from my room. I raced there and ran through the door to find Cas against the wall and Azazel barely a foot away from him. I ran over and threw Azazel to the ground. Cas jumped toward me and I held him close to me. Azazel stood, chuckling creepily.

"Come on, now. I just wanted to talk," he said. I let go of Cas and went at Azazel, punching him in the jaw. I could feel the pain in my hand, but I didn't care. I was so overtaken with anger I hoped I would never have to feel again. I subconsciously expected Cas to yell and tell me not to hit him. That's how he was, that was his personality. He never wanted anyone to get hurt, but this time he didn't say anything. I could tell that Azazel didn't treat Cas right even when they were together. From how Cas acted and stories he told me of when they were together before he came out.

"Get the fuck out of here before I call the cops. Or worse," I said through gritted teeth. He, again, laughed it off, and nodded while blood began to drip from his mouth.

"I'm not done, Castiel. We still need to talk. I'll get you back, one way or another." And with that, he walked out. I was on the very edge of going after him and beating the living shit out of him, but I didn't. That wouldn't help anything but my own satisfaction. Cas and I stood still until we heard the front door close, then Cas clutched onto me.

"Did he- what did he do to you?" I asked shakily.

"Nothing. Nothing," he said through my shirt. I sighed a breath of relief.

"What the fuck did he want?"

"He didn't get a chance to say much. Oh god, what the fuck is wrong with him? Why can't he just leave me alone?" Cas said after pulling away slightly to face me. "Seriously, why is he back? Now, of all times?"

"I've got no clue, Cas. I'm so sorry. Are you sure he didn't say anything else?"

"I don't think so. It was hard to listen. I just wanted him out," he said. I felt horrible. I needed to do everything I could to keep that asshole away from Cas. I didn't know how yet, but I would, no matter what it took. I was so fucking sick of all of that happening to Cas. You'd think he had been through enough. He finally had a place in his life where he was happy, then his past started to chase him down. "I just don't get it. It's like I'm cursed."

"Hey, listen. No matter what, I'd rather have you. Cursed or not." Cas smiled a little and looked close at me. "Okay, why don't you go take a shower and I can make us something to eat, okay?" I said.

"Can we just- just lay down for a while?" he asked.

"Yeah... of course, c'mon," I said and lead him over to the bed. He lifted the blankets and crawled under them with me following. He tucked his head in my chest and I wrapped my arms tightly around him.

"Dean," he mumbled.

"Mm?"

"I hate him... so much," he said calmly. He said it smoothly and maturely and I didn't expect words like that from him. I had no reply but he knew I understood. I knew it would be a repeat of needing to keep yet another person away from Cas, but I didn't care. Cas didn't want to see Azazel, Cas didn't want to talk to Azazel, and I would do whatever it took to make that possible. We fell asleep like that for a while until Sam and my dad got home from the movies and woke us up.

"Deeaan, we have pizza," I heard Sam say from outside the door. I woke up and Cas was still sound asleep.

"Cas, babe, let's go eat," I whispered and rubbed his back gently.

"Mmmm," he moaned and opened his eyes slightly. "I'm not hungry."

"Ya gotta be a little hungry, we haven't eaten since lunch," I said.

"Just tired..." he trailed off and leaned into my neck, gently kissing it before falling back to sleep. I quietly chuckled at him and slipped out of the bed to go and get some dinner and talk to my dad. I wanted to tell him everything that happened. It was _his _house Azazel broke into, anyway. I also just felt like maybe he could help if he still wanted to. It was kind of hard to ask more from him regarding Cas, but I hoped he still felt the same way and wanted to help him. I pulled the blankets over Cas' shoulders and left the room, shutting the door behind me. I walked into the kitchen and Sam and dad were sitting at the table.

"Hey, son," my dad said when I sat down with them and grabbed a slice of pizza.

"Hey, guys. How was the movie?" I asked.

"Lame," Sam said. I laughed and my dad said how he liked it and Sam was just being too critical. "Where's Cas?" Sam finally asked after a minute or two.

"He's passed out. It's- uh- been a long day," I said. Both Sam and dad noticed my clear change in attitude and unintentionally stared me down. "What? It's not exactly early, I should be asleep too." I took a drink of soda and didn't look at them. I just wanted to talk to my dad alone.

"Sam, can I, uh, talk to your brother alone for a minute?" my dad said. Sam got up and walked away reluctantly and I suddenly didn't feel like talking anymore. I wanted to go to bed next to Cas and wake up with no memory of the night's events. "What happened, Dean? Where's Cas?"

"Cas is fine, relax, he's asleep," I said.

"So... how long do I have to sit here until you tell me what happened?" he asked. I sighed and sat back in my chair.

"Okay, well- uhm. There's this guy- Azazel- he's, uh, Cas' ex," I started. I didn't want to talk about him anymore, I didn't want to think about him anymore.

"Okay... and?" my dad asked impatiently.

"Him and Cas have a real bad history. A lot happened, and Azazel really isn't a good guy. He was here, just now. I don't know, he was looking in the window. I chased him down the road, but he got in a car and... he got back here before I could," I paused. My father sat forward in his chair, looking at me sternly and thoughtfully.

"What did he do?" he whispered. "To Castiel, did he do something to Castiel?"

"Nothing. Nothing, like that. I got here in time, but dad- he could have-" I had to stop. I had to stop thinking. I couldn't talk anymore. I was tired and angry and scared. I didn't want to feel like that and I didn't want to admit it, but I was scared.

"He didn't, Dean. Cas is fine. Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you call the police?"

"Cas was just really freaked out. I'm sorry, I just didn't want to-"

"It's okay, it's fine. All that matters is that Castiel is alright; you both are."

"But dad, he said he's gonna come back. I think he threatened Cas," I said with a weak voice. My vision began to blur from the fighting tears. I couldn't break right in front of my dad. But it was hitting me. Everything was so perfect and now Cas is being terrorized again. History just kept repeating itself. I got up and went to my room without hearing or saying another word. My dad didn't follow. He never went into my room anymore. Not since he found out about Cas and me. It's not like he was weird about it, and we never asked for him to stay out, he just didn't come in.

It took me hours to fall asleep that night. Being right beside Cas barely seemed to help. I kept getting paranoid; having to get up and look out the window. It's not like I actually thought Azazel would be out there, but I just needed to look. I didn't even truly think Azazel would do anything extreme, but it didn't matter. Cas was out cold, poor thing. Even when he was sleeping he looked exhausted. He was getting better so quickly and then it went to shit. But he was different with Azazel. I didn't expect him to be the same, but with Azazel Cas just had so much more anger. I believed he was angry at his dad, but it was mostly fear. With Azazel it was like he was angry at him for making him fearful. He wasn't himself.

The next morning I woke up to an empty bed. I didn't remember what time I fell asleep, but it was probably around five or six I reached over and grabbed my phone from beside my bed and it read 11:56. I cussed and hauled myself out of bed to shower and eat breakfast. Fifteen minutes later I walked into the kitchen and Cas was at the table eating a sandwich.

"Hey, babe," I said, walking to the fridge.

"Good morning. Or, should I say afternoon?" he laughed. I smiled and walked over to kiss him on the forehead.

"When did you get up?" I asked.

"Not early. Nine or so," he said.

"Did you sleep alright? After everything..."

"Yeah. I slept fine," he said and smiled a little. I continued looking through the fridge and pulled out some leftover pizza. I was glad Cas seemed happy, but it wasn't what I was expecting. He really seemed okay, and I felt bad for being confused. I sat down at the table with him and devoured the cold pizza.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Your dad went to the grocery store and Sam's in his room," he said.

"Hey, so- are you okay?" I asked.

"What do you mean, Dean?"

"C'mon, Cas, ya know. After Azazel coming last night?" I whispered.

"I'm fine, Dean. Really."

"Are you sure? Because I'm here for you. You know that."

"That's why I'm okay. Because I know you're here. I mean, after all the shit I've put you through you haven't even considered leaving. And you know that's what most guys would do," he laughed softly.

"I love you," I said.

"And I love you," Cas replied with a dorky smile. He leaned forward and kissed me before he got up towards the sink. "Do you wanna go see a movie or something today?"

"Yeah. That'd be cool," I said. I heard what Cas said about trusting me, but I was still a little curious about his sudden change in attitude about everything. Just the night before he was scared and exhausted. Regardless, I was thrilled. Seeing Cas happy was like a double- no- triple rainbow after a storm. It made me feel like I could breathe. He was standing at the sink washing his dish and I took the opportunity to make him smile again. I stood up and quietly walked up behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist. I kissed his neck up and down.

"I really do, Cas. I really fucking love you," I said. He dried off his hands and turned around in my arms.

"Do you really want to get into an 'I love you more' fight because I won't lose."

An hour later we left to go to the movies with Sam. The theater was pretty busy for a Sunday afternoon, and I wasn't really in the mood to be around so many people. We were seeing some superhero movie that Cas and Sam were geeking out about. It didn't sound like anything special to me, but they seemed really excited about it. I bought us some popcorn and we finally made it to our seats. Cas seemed like he was already having a good time, and I was glad, but it seemed like I was the only one still stressing about Azazel. Maybe there was a good reason for that. Maybe I was stressing over nothing. Maybe I was overreacting. But I didn't feel like I was. That Azazel dude gave me the hardcore creeps and I couldn't get him off my mind. During the movie trailers Cas put his hand on my arm to get my attention.

"Are you alright, Dean?" he asked.

"Yeah, Cas. I'm fine, don't worry," I lied, "I'm just gonna run to get a soda. Want something?" He shook his head. I kissed him and heard a sketchy reaction from the guys sitting behind us. I was used to it, but I was just so not in the mood. I tried to ignore them and got up to leave the theater to go to the counter. The more my brain reminded me of Azazel the more I wanted to puke, but I ordered my drink and made my way back to the dark theater. The hallway was quiet. Everyone was already in the many theaters in the building. The next thing I knew I slammed against the wall, pinned down. Everything looked white for a few seconds and my head was pounding. I must have hit it hard. My vision cleared and I saw him; it was Azazel. I tried to move and get out of his grasp. I tried in any way I could to hit him, kick him, just hurt him. I couldn't handle the anger surging through me.

"Settle down, buddy. Just wanna talk," he whispered.

"Get the fuck off of me! You bastard!" I yelled. He put his hand over my mouth so tight I could barely breathe through my nose.

"Sshh. You don't wanna interrupt the movies, right? We can talk civilized," he said with a smirk. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to fucking _kill him. _I bit down on his hand and he backed off enough for me to knee him in his crotch. He bent over and I threw him onto the ground. I told myself that was it. I could go get Cas and Sam and we could get the hell out, but I didn't listen to the clearly better solution repeating in my head. He tried to get up and I hit him on the side of his face, sending him back down to the ground. I could feel the pain in my hand, but it wasn't bad. The adrenaline was taking over. I had to walk away from him, but I didn't. I got on top of him and started punching. After three hard hits I felt hands lift me off of him. I was pulled back and I realized what I was doing. Azazel was on the ground moaning, his face covered in blood. A couple doors down the hall, Cas came out of the theater. He saw Azazel on the ground and stopped in his tracks. Then he looked up at me and started walking over. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, and I couldn't move an inch under the hold of the two guys holding me.

"Cas, I- I'm sorry," I started. When he got to us he stopped. He looked at Azazel as another guy was helping him up. Once he was on his feet, Cas walked over to him so close that I involuntarily pulled away from the guards, which made them jerk me back painfully.

"Why are you doing this?" Cas asked Azazel. "Why. Are. You. Doing. This?!"

"I still love you, Cassie. You can't really think this dickhead loves you as much as I do. We had such a good thing back then. You have to come back, Castiel," Azazel said.

"Hah... I don't know what relationship you're referring to, but it definitely doesn't sound like the one we had. Now get the fuck over it and get the fuck out of my life. You didn't deserve Dean doing this to you. You deserve worse. And you'll get it if you don't leave us alone," Cas said through gritted teeth. Azazel didn't say anything. Cas turned to me and walked over. He reached his hands up to cup my face. "Are you alright, Dean?"

"Yeah... yeah I'm okay, Cas," I said. I was practically speechless too.

"Let him go. We're done here. He's done," Cas said to the goons. "I've got him. He won't do anything." They looked very unsure, but they eventually let me go and I fell out of their grasp. We started to walk back to get Sam and Azazel came up behind us without making a sound and shoved me to the ground. Cas was yelling and tried to get Azazel away, but he kicked me in the stomach a few times before the guards came over.

"Dean!" Cas yelled and rushed to help me stand.

"I'm good, I'm good," I gasped. The adrenaline was still running through me, but I could feel the ache and sharp pain in my stomach. Cas helped me up, holding me close to him.

"I'm sorry, Cas," I said.

"Shut up, would you," he said. "Can you stand?" I nodded and he let go of me. He walked over to Azazel and hit him so hard in the jaw that I thought it would knock the guy holding him over, too. My eyes widened and I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit turned on, even with the stabbing pain all over my body and the other harsh circumstances. Cas put his hands up immediately but a guard still went to him.

"Okay, I don't know what the hell is going on with you guys, but you have to know I gotta call the police," one of the guards said.

"No! Please. Please don't do that. We'll go get my brother and leave. I swear," I said as I walked over to take Cas' arm. "We're good, I swear. No more." He reluctantly let go of Cas and we walked to the movie theater as quickly as we could, both of us looking over our shoulder to the beaten and bloody Azazel.


End file.
